S.  Zl.'oif. 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


■  \  _____ 

Presented   by  Vt-S.  ^  \  C\  e/\^\'~Y^.A-\  o  r-\ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/expositorylect011866beth 


EXPOSITORY    LECTURES 


HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


GEORGE  W.   BETHUNE,  D.  D. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  I. 


NEW  YORK: 

SHELDON  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS, 
498  &  500  BROADWAY. 

186  6. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1?'>4,  by 

Sheldon  and  Company, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York 


STEREOTYPED    BY   H.    0.    HOnGHTON   AND   CO. 


DEDICATED 

TO  THE 

REFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH  OF  AMERICA, 

THE   CHURCH   OF   THE   AUTHOR'S   ADOPTION   AND    LOVE, 

TO  WHICH  THE  THIRTY-SIX  YEARS  OF  HIS  MINISTRY  WERE  DEVOTED, 

IN  THE  LENGTHENING  OF  ITS  CORDS  AND  THE 

STRENGTHENING  OF  ITS  STAKES. 

fin   tMs   (KSurcl), 

MAY   HIS  AVORDS  STILL  WIN   SOULS  TO  CHRIST, 

IS   THE  PRAYER  OF   HIS   SORROWING 

WIDOW. 


PREFACE. 


TN  this  work  the  pubhc  are  presented  with  the  best 
literary  monument  of  its  illustrious  author.  The 
subjects  are  the  highest  within  the  range  of  theological 
science  ;  and  Dr.  Bethune  brought  to  their  discussion 
the  ripeness  of  his  intellectual  powers,  a  classic  beauty 
of  style,  and  the  riches  of  a  library  well  stored  in  this 
particular  department.  In  view  of  this  exposition,  he 
had  collected  the  principal  commentators  on  the  Hei- 
delberg Catechism.  As  the  lectures  Avere  prepared  for 
DODular  audiences,  thev  are  free  from  the  stiffness  of 
theological  formulas,  and  will  prove  interesting  to  all 
classes  of  readers.  While  this  Catechism  has  been  so 
widely  received,  and  has  become  the  standard  of  faith 
in  two  large  churches  of  our  country,  —  while  it  has 
engaged  the  attention  of  so  many  commentators  in 
Europe,  —  it  seems  singular  that  this  should  be  the 
first  American  attempt  at  a  popular  exposition  designed 
for  the  press. 

It  is  a  misfortune  to  the  church  that  the  work  re- 
mains incomplete.  It  has  been  carried  forward  with 
careful  regard  to  the  catechetical  text  to  the  Thirty- 
fifth   Lord's  Day,  where  the  exposition  ends  with  an 


VI  PREFACE. 

introduction  to  the  second  commandment.  Sermons 
on  the  third  and  fourth  commands  have  been  added, 
because  they  are  some  of  the  finest  productions  of  the 
author's  pen,  and  because,  while  not  textual,  yet  they 
may  be  considered  a  fair  commentary  on  the  Thirty- 
sixth  and  Thirty-eighth  Lord's  Days.  The  work  has 
been  prepared  for  the  press,  and  a  full  index  and  table 
of  references  arranged,  by  a  friend  in  whose  critical 
taste  Dr.  Bethune  placed  great  confidence,  and  whom  he 
named  as  a  person  qualified  for  the  task.  Memoranda 
of  writers  upon  the  Catechism  were  found,  leading  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  author  designed  to  prepare  a 
list  of  such  writers,  as  a  history  of  its  literature.  This 
purpose  has  been  carried  out.  From  these  memoranda, 
some  investigations  of  my  own,  and  the  most  valuable 
assistance  of  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Gieson  of  Claverack,  I 
have  been  enabled  to  append  the  most  complete  cat- 
alogue of  Heidelberg  commentators  that  has  ever 
been  published. 

Abm.  R.  Van  Nest,  Jr. 


CONTENTS    OF   VOLUME   I. 


PAGE 
INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS 3 

LECTURE   I. 
THE    ONLY   COMFORT    OF    BELIEVERS  .  .  .  .  12 

LECTURE  ir. 
THE    KXOAVLEDGE   OF    OUR    MISERY 29 

LECTURE  IIL 
THE    FALL   OF    MAX 49 

LECTURE  IV. 
punisiimi:nt  of  sin 71 

LECTURE  V. 

NECESSITY   OF   A    MEDIATOR       .  .  ...         97 

LECTURE  VL 
QUALITIES    OF    THE    MEDIATOR 117 

LECTURE  VIL 
THE   PROVISION    OF   A   MEDIATOR 137 

LECTURE  VIIL 
SAVING   FAITH 153 

LECTURE  IX. 
THE   BEING   AND    UNITY    OF    GOD 175 

LECTURE  X. 
THE    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    TRINITY   STATED  -       .  .  .       193 


viii  CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  XI. 

PAOB 
FAITH    IN    GOD    THE    FATHER 211 

LECTURE  XII. 
THE    PROVIDENCE    OF    GOD 235 

LECTURE  Xin. 
THE    NAME    OF   JESUS 259 

LECTURE  XIV. 
THE   TITLE,    CHRIST 287 

LECTURE  XV. 
THE    SONSHIP   AND    GOVERNMENT   OF    CHRIST  .  .      313 

LECTURE  XVL 
THE    INCARNATION 331 

LECTURE  XVII. 
CHRIST'S    SUFFERING   AND    CROSS 351 

LECTURE  XVIIL 
Christ's  death  and  burial 373 

LECTURE  XIX. 
THE   descent    into    HELL 893 

LECTURE  XX. 
THE    resurrection    OF    CHRIST 417 

LECTURE  XXL 
the   ascension   of    CHRIST 451 

LECTURE  XXII. 

CHRIST    ON   THE    THRONE    AS   RULER    AND   JUDGE     .  .      469 


EXPOSITORY   LECTURES 

ON 

THE    HEIDELBERG    CATECHISM. 

LECTURE   L 

THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS. 


INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 

T  T  is  a  peculiarity  of  our  Church,  that  she  not  only 
-*-  directs  her  children  to  be  taught  by  a  Catechism  the 
Christian  doctrine,  as  every  Church  of  the  Reforma- 
tion has  done,  but  also  orders  her  ministers  to  explain 
the  Catechism  which  she  has  adopted,  systematically 
and  regularly  before  her  congregations  on  the  Sabbath 
day ;  thus  secui'ing  the  intelligent  acquaintance  of  her 
people  with  the  articles  of  our  holy  faith,  and  the  fidel- 
ity of  her  preachers  as  expounders  of  all  evangelical 
truth.  Originally  it  was  made  the  pastor's  duty  to  go 
through  the  exposition  once  a  year,  each  of  the  fifty- 
two  Sabbaths  having  its  assigned  part ;  but  the  Church 
in  this  country,  that  the  minister  might  have  a  more 
free  choice  of  topics,  sometime  since,  modified  the  rule, 
by  extending  the  time  over  four  years  ;  and  one  lecture 
or  more  in  each  month  will  meet  the  requirement  of 
that  authority  to  which  we  happily  OAve  submission. 
I  undertake  the  difficult  work  the  more  cheerfully,  be- 
cause many  of  my  hearers  have  but  recently  associated 
themselves  with  our  denomination  ;  because  the  method 
and  the  language  of  the  Catechism  is  well  chosen  for 
such  as  desire  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  that  they 
may  live  by  it ;  because  many  hurtful  errors  are  lament- 
ably prevalent ;  and  because  Christ's  true  disciples  will 
always  gratefully  listen  to  plain,  scriptural  statements 


4  INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 

of  sanctifying  truth.  At  the  same  time,  we  protest 
against  being  thought  "  to  liold  the  Catechism  in  equal 
estimation  with  the  Word  of  God "  (^Marck ) ;  or 
"  that  orthodoxy  should  be  decided  by  any  other  stand- 
ard than  the  combined  writings  of  the  divinely  inspired 
Prophets  and  Apostles,  —  the  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice  "  (^Zeigland,  L'Unfanf)  ;  —  but  we  do  hold  it  as 
the  symbol  of  our  belief,  and  the  test  of  adherence  to 
our  Reformed  Church,  into  which  no  one  has  a  right 
of  entrance  who  does  not  acknowledge  its  published 
confessions.  "  If,"  as  Van  der  Kemp  says,  "  we  believe 
the  doctrines  of  the  Catechism,  it  is  not  on  account  of 
the  Catechism,  but  of  God's  own  Word,  out  of  which 
and  according  to  which  the  Catechism  was  composed. 
If  we  prize  this  little  book,  we  love  the  Word  of  God 
more.  We  commend  it,  because  it  recommends  and 
explains  clearly  the  Word  of  God  to  us." 

Before,  however,  we  begin  its  exposition,  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  very  brief  sketch  of  its 
origin  and  history.  It  received  its  name  from  the  city 
of  Heidelberg,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Neckar,  now  in 
the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  but  formerly  of  the  Lower 
Palatinate,  or  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine ;  the  fertile  terri- 
tory of  which  is  now  divided  into  Prussia,  Bavaria, 
Baden,  Hesse  Darmstadt,  and  other  German  States. 
Heidelberg  became  famous  by  the  establishment  of  a 
University  there,  in  1386  (the  oldest  of  the  German 
seats  of  learning  after  those  of  Prague  and  Vienna), 
Avliich  contributed  greatly  to  the  enlightening  of  the 
Palatinate  and  the  circumjacent  countries.  Early  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  Jerome  of  Prague  came  to  Hei- 
delberg, advocating  the  new  opinions ;  and  the  Univer- 
sity took  an  active  part  among  the  controversialists  of 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  6 

that  eventful  time.  In  April,  1518,  under  the  reign 
of  the  Elector  Ludwig,  Luther  came  from  Wittenberg 
to  his  brethren,  the  Augustines,  at  Heidelberg,  and  set 
up  public  disputations  in  their  monastery,  gaining  ap- 
plause and  followers  among  the  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity and  the  nobility  of  the  Palatinate.  These 
eminent  men,  but  especially  CEcolampadius,  Martin 
Tucco,  and  Brentz,  pushed  the  cause  of  the  Refor- 
mation with  such  vigor  as  to  alarm  the  champions  of 
Rome,  who  prohibited  the  disputations  of  Luther  and 
his  friends,  citing  Brentz  and  his  associate,  Theobald 
Bilikan,  before  the  Chancellor  of  the  Electorate 
(Von  Banningen),  to  answer  the  charge  of  heresy, 
and  for  a  time  prevented  their  preaching ;  but  Frederic 
II.,  who  succeeded  his  brother,  the  Elector  Philip, 
being  well  versed  in  the  disputes,  and  zealously  devoted 
to  the  new  opinions,  began  at  once  the  Reformation  of 
the  Church ;  and  was  accomplishing  much  good,  when 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Miihlberg  (24th  of  April,  1547, 
in  which  tlie  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  leader  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  were  made 
prisoners)  gave  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  the  power  to 
dictate  the  so-called  Interim,  by  which  the  main  tenets 
of  Popery  were  enforced.  The  Emperor's  triumph 
over  the  steadfast  friends  of  truth  did  not  last  long, 
however;  and  by  the  memorable  treaty  of  Passau, 
Aug.  2,  1552,  the  Germans  obtained  full  religious 
freedom.  The  Elector,  Otto  Heinrich,  following  the 
example  of  Frederic  II.,  whom  he  succeeded,  1556, 
abolished  the  mass,  with  other  idolatries  of  Rome, 
ordered  all  images  to  be  removed  from  the  churches, 
and  commissioned  Heinrich  Stole,  Michael  Diller,  and 
Dr.  Marbach,  from  Strasburgh,  to  make  a  new  Church 


6  INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

order,  or  ritual,  which  he  caused  to  be  published 
and  adopted  by  all  the  churches  of  the  Palatinate. 
He  also  established  at  Heidelberg  an  "  Ecclesiastical 
Council,"  the  first  members  of  which  were  Diller,  the 
court  chaplain,  the  electoral  Chancellors  Ehren  and 
Eraft,  and  afterwards,  on  the  recommendation  of  Me- 
lancthon,  Tielman  Hesshus.  Already,  however,  the 
opinions  of  Zuinglius,  who  held  the  true  doctrine,  con- 
trary to  the  consubstantiation  of  Luther,  had  many 
adherents  at  Heidelberg ;  and  disputes  ran  high  be- 
tween the  two  schools.  The  pious  Frederic  IH., 
succeeding  Otto  Heinrich,  1559,  at  once  declared  him- 
self on  the  side  of  the  Zuinglians.  He  took  and  pursued 
his  measures  with  great  prudence,  but  no  less  zeal ;  and, 
after  a  sharp  controversy,  he  remodelled  the  churches 
of  the  Palatinate  after  the  form  of  the  Zuinglian-Hel- 
vetic  pattern.  He  converted  a  college,  which  Fred- 
eric the  Second  had  established  at  Heidelberg,  into  a 
theological  seminary,  and  gave  it  professors  of  the  Re- 
formed (not  Lutheran)  opinions.  After  accomplishing 
this,  he  turned  all  his  attention  to  the  preparing  of  a 
catechism  for  the  churches  and  schools  of  the  Palati- 
nate. There  were  already  several  catechisms,  besides 
that  of  Brenhius  and  that  of  Luther,  used  among  the 
Palatinate  churches,  causing  many  disputes  from  their 
discrepancies ;  and  they  needed  a  symbolical  book  of 
their  own,  clearly  setting  forth  the  true  Christian  doc- 
trine. The  Elector  himself  says,  in  the  Preface  which 
he  wrote  to  the  first  edition  of  the  Heidelbero;  Cate- 
chism,  1563,  that  it  was  written  in  order  to  remove  all 
error,  false  doctrine,  and  differences  of  opinion  from 
the  Church,  and  establish  the  Reformation  firmly.  The 
Elector  proposed  the  composition  of  the  Catechism,  in 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  7 

1562,  to  Zachary  Ursinus,  a  learned  professor  at  Hei- 
delberg, and  Casparus  Olevianus,  the  court  preacher, 
a  favorite  of  Frederic.  Each  took  part  in  the  com- 
position of  the  book.  Olevianus  arranged  his  as  a 
simple  illustration  of  the  covenant  of  grace  ;  Ursinus 
prepared  two  forms  of  a  catechism,  —  one  for  children 
in  the  schools,  another  suited  to  the  more  advanced. 
From  the  labors  of  both,  the  Heidelbero;  Catechism  was 
produced,  —  the  system  of  which  must  be  attributed  to 
Ui'sinus.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  Frederic  himself 
took  part  in  the  work,  especially  in  the  answer  to  the 
Seventy-eighth  Question,  which  the  Elector  says  he 
altered  from  the  words  of  Theodoret,  for  reasons  as- 
signed. 

The  Catechism  having  been  completed  in  the  same 
year  that  it  was  begun,  Frederic  assembled  in  a  synod 
at  Heidelberg  all  the  superintendents  and  preachers  of 
the  Palatinate,  whom  he  expected  to  examine  the  book 
carefully,  and  see  that  it  was  every  way  according  to 
the  Word  of  God.  Part  of  the  church  in  which  the 
synod  met  is  still  standing.  They  zealously  performed 
the  part  assigned  them,  and,  expressing  their  wonder  at 
the  learning  and  the  precision  shown  in  it,  heartily  ap- 
proved it,  particularly  and  as  a  whole,  recommending 
its  adoption  and  publication.  It  was  immediately  trans- 
lated into  Latin  by  two  learned  professors,  Lago  and 
Pithozao,  and  published  in  both  languages  at  Heidel- 
berg, 1563,  by  John  Mayer,  under  the  title  of  "  Cate- 
chism, or  Christian  Instruction,  according  to  the  usages 
of  the  Palatinate  Churches  and  Schools." 

Though  the  Latin  version  was  published  at  the  same 
time  with  the  German,  the  German,  or  original,  is  the 
authentic  copy ;  "  in  which,"  says  Alting,  "  everything 


8  INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

is  not  only  more  elegantly,  but  also  more  impressively 
set  forth." 

The  first  edition  is  now  extremely  rare.  It  differs 
not  a  little  from  our  present  copies  in  form,  words,  and 
style,  some  things  being  wanting  which  were  afterwards 
added,  and  some  things  supplied  which  were  afterwards 
left  out.  It  is  not  divided  into  the  sections  for  the  suc- 
cessive Lord's  days.  The  paragraphs  are  not  distinctly 
separated,  questions  and  answers  being  thrown  togeth- 
er. The  scriptural  proofs  are  few,  and  not  always  well 
chosen.  The  Eightieth  Question,  for  some  unknown 
reason,  is  wholly  omitted. 

The  first  edition  was  followed  in  the  same  year  by 
another,  having  the  same  title  and  editor,  so  that  it 
could  not  be  recognized  as  distinct  but  for  the  insertion 
of  the  Eightieth  Question,  and  a  note  at  the  end,  stating 
that  it  was  added  upon  the  order  of  the  Elector.  The 
language  of  the  Eightieth  Question  is  not,  however, 
the  same  with  that  which  we  now  have,  (probably  from 
some  desire  not  unnecessarily  to  offend  the  Papists,)  but 
is  in  these  words  :  "And  is  not  the  mass,  in  truth,  noth- 
ing else  but  an  idolatrous  denial  of  the  sole  accepted 
sacrifice,  the  sufferings  of  Christ  ?  "  There  was,  prob- 
ably, yet  a  third  edition  in  1563 ;  as  a  copy,  in  other 
respects  like  the  second,  gives  the  conclusion  of  the 
Eightieth  Question  somewhat  differently ;  possibly,  how- 
ever, a  new  page  was  substituted  in  later  impressions 
of  the  second.  The  inconvenience  of  the  early  arrange- 
ment was  so  much  felt,  that  the  fourth  edition  (with 
same  title)  was  issued  by  Mayer,  1573  (duodecimo), 
in  which  the  questions  and  answers  are  divided  and 
numbered,  and  marked  for  the  fifty-two  Lord's  days. 

The  most  valuable  edition  of  these  times  is  yet  pub- 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  9 

llshed  at  Neustadt  on  the  Hardt,  1595  (octavo),  with 
the  title:  "  Catechism,  or  Brief  System  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine ;  together  with  the  Church  Ritual,  Prayers,  and 
appropriate  Proofs  from  Holy  Writ.  Also,  the  Defence 
of  the  Heidelberg  Theologians  against  the  unfounded 
charges  and  attacks  with  which  this  Catechism  and  its 
excellent  Proofs  out  of  Scripture  have  been  unfairly 
pursued.  Also,  the  Opinion  of  Martin  Luther  on  the 
Bread-breaking  in  the  Holy  Supper.  Also,  Answers 
and  Counter-questions  on  the  Six  Questions  on  the 
Holy  Supper,  and  in  Avhich  particulars  the  Evangeli- 
cal Churches  agree  or  differ  respecting  the  Holy  Sup- 
per; arranged  by  Zacharias  Ursinus."  The  Defence 
given  in  this  previous  edition  is  masterly. 

The  division  of  the  Catechism  into  its  three  principal 
parts,  as  set  forth  in  the  Second  Question  and  Answer, 
was  imitated  from  the  order  of  Scripture  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  as  we  learn  from  the  Prolegomena, 
(preface)  of  Ursinus  himself  It  is  also  stated  by  sev- 
eral learned  divines  (Theo.  Marck  in  his  Catechetical 
Defence,  Dontrein  in  his  Golden  Treasure,  and  Von 
Alpen  in  his  Prolegomena),  that  the  arrangement  fol- 
lowed is  that  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  Catechism  was  the  object  of  many  and  long- 
continued  attacks  from  various  quarters,  but  was  man- 
fully and  successfidly  defended  until  it  gained  the  con- 
fidence and  praise  of  all  the  Reformed  Churches ;  editions 
of  both  the  German  and  Latin  versions  were  numerous, 
and  many  commentai'ies  and  expositions  by  way  of  ser- 
mons wei'e  Avritten  upon  it,  —  the  best  of  which  is  that 
of  Ursinus  himself,  published  from  notes  taken  from  his 
lectures  on  the  work  at  Heidelberg,  1569-77,  coi-rected 
and  edited  by  David  Parens,  1591-98. 


10  INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

The  Catechism  has  been  translated  into  nearly  all 
the  civilized  languages.  A  Greek  translation,  intended 
for  the  churches  of  that  name,  was  made  by  Frederic 
Sylburg,  and  sent  at  the  expense  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral to  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  The  Belgian 
government  had  it  translated  into  Spanish,  that  it  might 
be  used  in  the  West  Indies.  The  Swiss  churches  re- 
constructed the  Catechism  of  Zurich  after  its  clearer 
expositions.  The  Reformed  churches  of  Hungary  or- 
dered it  to  be  taught  and  explained  in  their  churches, 
schools,  and  nniversities.  It  received  high  commenda- 
tions from  the  pious  and  learned  in  England ;  while 
almost  universally  on  the  continent  it  was  acknowl- 
edged as  a  symbolical  book  of  the  Reformed  churches. 
It  was  rendered  into  Hebrew,  Greek,  Dutch,  Spanish, 
French,  English,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Polish,  Hungarian, 
Arabic,  and  Malay,  as  well  as  in  Gei-man  and  Latin. 
It  has  passed  through  not  less  than  five  hundred  thou- 
sand editions,  through  the  press  of  Germany  alone. 

But  in  no  country  was  it  more  highly  honored  than 
in  Holland.  It  was  early  made  the  symbolical  book  of 
the  Dutch  Church,  ordered  to  be  taught  in  their  schools 
and  universities,  and  expounded  regularly  from  their 
pulpits.  All  their  preachers,  and  teachers,  and  profes- 
sors were  sworn  to  hold  and  promulgate  its  doctrines  ; 
nor  was  any  one  admitted  to  church-membership  who 
did  not  profess  its  faith.  In  the  most  mournful  times 
of  persecution,  Peter  Gabriel  encouraged  the  constancy 
of  his  suffering  brethren  by  pi'eaching  from  it  at  Am- 
sterdam. It  was  first  approved  by  the  Dutch  divines  who 
were  exiles  for  their  creed,  in  an  assembly  at  Wessel, 
1568 ;  the  lesser  national  synod  of  Dordrecht,  1574, 
required  that  all  their  teachers  of  religion  should  sign 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  11 

the  Catechism  at  the  same  time  with  their  Confession 
of  Faith  ;  and  the  great  synod  of  Dordrecht  directed 
their  formularies  to  be  prepared,  —  the  first  to  be  signed 
by  professors  of  theology,  the  second  by  preachers, 
and  the  third  by  school-masters,  —  declaring  and  prom- 
ising the  strictest  adherence  to  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism, The  first  and  second  formularies  are  preserved 
in  use  among  our  churches  here  to  this  day.  Many- 
most  learned  theologians  from  all  parts  of  Europe  being 
present,  by  invitation,  at  that  synod,  united  Avith  their 
Dutch  brethren  in  thoroughly  examining  it,  and  gave 
it  the  most  unreserved  and  highest  commendation. 
From  the  mother  churches  of  Germany  and  Holland, 
it  was  brought  by  their  children  to  this  country,  and  is 
now  the  symbolical  book  of  the  Reformed  German  and 
Dutch  churches  of  North  America ;  where  may  God 
long  maintain  its  holy  teachings. 

Thus  you  may  see,  dear  fellow-Christians,  through 
what  care  and  unanimous  devotion  of  pious,  learned 
men  the  Lord  of  the  Church  has  prepared  and  pre- 
served this  admirable  compend  of  his  pure  truth  for  us. 
The  little  book  which  your  children  study,  has  stood 
the  shock  of  Popery  and  heresy  through  bloody  centu- 
ries, —  strengthening  the  weak,  and  making  heroic  the 
strong.  Well  may  we  study,  with  devout  and  thankful 
hearts,  a  manual  so  sacred  in  its  doctrines  and  associa- 
tions. 

You  will  remark,  however,  that,  unlike  most  books 
of  the  kind,  our  Catechism  takes  the  order  of  Christian 
experience  ;  was  prepared  for  those  professing  to  be 
Christians,  and  should  be  expounded  accordingly.  May 
God  aid  me  in  the  exposition,  and  bless  you  in  the  hear- 
ing, for  the  honor  of  his  holy  name.     Amen. 


FIRST   LORD'S   DAY. 
THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS. 

Quest.  I.      What  is  thine  only  comfort  in  life  and  death  1 

Ans.  That  I,  with  body  and  soul,  both  in  life  and  death,  am  not  my 
own,  but  belong  unto  my  faithful  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  who,  with  his 
precious  blood,  hath  fully  satisfied  for  all  my  sins,  and  delivered  me  from 
all  power  of  the  devil ;  and  so  preserves  me,  that  without  the  will  of 
my  heavenly  Father,  not  a  hair  can  fall  from  my  head;  yea,  that  all 
things  must  be  subservient  to  my  salvation;  and,  therefore,  by  his 
Holy  Spirit  he  also  assures  me  of  eternal  life,  and  makes  me  sincerely 
willing  and  ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  him. 

Quest.  II.  How  many  things  are  necessary  for  thee  to  know,  that  thou, 
enjoying  this  comfort,  mayest  live  and  die  hajjpilyf 

Ans.  Three:  the  first,  how  great  mj' sins  and  miseries  are;  the  second, 
how  I  may  be  delivered  from  all  my  sins  and  miseries;  the  third,  how 
I  shall  express  my  gratitude  to  God  for  such  deliverance. 

^PHE  answer  to  the  First  Question  tells  us  in  a  few 
-*-  words,  what  those  great  doctrines  of  the  Scriptures 
are,  from  which  the  Christian  derives  his  sure  and  only 
comfort. 

The  answer  to  the  Second  Question  states  the  or- 
der which  will  be  followed  throiighout  the  Catechism, 
by  a  division  of  all  Christian  knowledge  necessary  for 
our  salvation  into  three  parts. 

The  several  truths  contained  in  both  these  answers 
will  be  discussed  at  length  as  we  proceed,  step  by  step, 
with  our  study  of  the  book.  At  present,  therefore,  we 
shall  only  ask  you  to  mark  — 

First  :  The  comfort  which  a  Christian  has  in  his 
religious  belief. 

Secondly  :  The  method  hy  which  he  attains  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  comfort. 


Lect.  I.]        THE  ONLY  COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.  13 

First  :  The  comfort  which  a  Christian  has  in  his 
religious  belief. 

My  beloved  friends,  —  the  Catechism  does  not  err, 
but  follows  the  high,  infallible,  binding  example  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  throughout  the  Scriptures.  When  the 
evangelical  prophet,  moved  by  divine  influence,  pro- 
claimed, as  the  voice  of  God,  the  blessings  of  Christ's 
approaching  kingdom,  he  commanded  the  messengers 
of  grace,  saying  :  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people, 
saitli  your  God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem, 
and  cry  unto  her  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that 
her  iniquity  is  pardoned  ;  for  she  hath  received  of  the 
Lord's  hand  double  for  all  her  sins."  When  the  angel 
came  to  the  shepherds  with  the  annunciation  of  Christ's 
advent,  what  were  his  words?  "  Fear  not ;  for  behold, 
I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to 
all  people."  When  Jesus  himself  preached,  what  was 
his  argument  to  gain  the  ears  of  the  people?  "  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink."  "  Come 
unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest."  What  is  the  name  given  by  the 
blessed  Master  to  his  truth  but  the  Gospel,  or  good 
news,  which  he  has  ordained  shall  be  preached  to  every 
creature  ?  Nay,  does  not  the  term  salvation  imply  that 
there  is  a  danger  of  misery  from  which  we  are  to  be 
rescued,  and  is  not  the  hope  of  safety  a  comfort  ?  The 
Catechism  is  right  in  bringing  religion  to  us  under  the 
name  of  comfort ;  nor  is  the  promise  of  comfort  discord- 
ant with  the  inculcation  of  duty,  as  the  subsequent 
teachings  of  the  book  will  show. 

The  chief  end  of  man,  in  his  salvation,  as  in  his 
creation,  is  the  glory  of  God ;  but  the  glory  of  our 
divine  Maker  and  Redeemer  is  closely  connected  with 


14  THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  1. 

the  happiness  of  all  who  faithfully  obey  him.  It  was 
that  he  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  fam- 
ily  of  creatures  reflecting  in  their  happiness  his  own 
blessedness,  that  he  made  our  race  ;  it  is  that  he  may 
behold  a  family  of  penitent  sinners  happy  again  and 
forever,  that  he  has  established  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion. The  holy  angels,  who  advance  by  their  glad 
service  the  glory  of  their  Lord,  are  happy  in  their 
ministry ;  and  man,  while  he  continued  sinless,  M^as 
happy  in  his  heavenly  Father's  approbation.  The  re- 
lation of  the  creature  to  the  Creator  makes  it  necessary 
that  the  happiness  and  obedience  of  the  subject  should 
be  inseparable,  and  also  —  his  disobedience  and  misery. 
It  is  only  when  his  intelligent  creatures  break  the  right- 
eous laws  which  God  has  given  for  their  guidance,  and 
thus  dash  themselves  against  the  immutable  principles 
of  his  government,  that,  to  manifest  the  glory  of  his 
justice,  he  makes  them  miserable  in  their  sins,  as  the 
fallen  angels  are,  and  as  fallen  men  are,  except  they  be 
saved  through  faith  in  Christ  and  repentance  toward 
God.  The  process  of  the  Gospel  is  the  conversion  of 
the  sinner  from  sin  to  holiness ;  that  through  holiness 
he  may  be  restored  to  happiness.  It  is  our  duty  to  be 
happy,  because  happiness  lies  in  contentment  with  all 
the  divine  will  concerning  us.  Therefore,  the  Chris- 
tian is  not  selfish  or  blameworthy  in  seeking  his  own 
happiness  from  that  religion,  by  the  avowal  and  prac- 
tice of  which  he  endeavors  to  glorify  God  on  earth 
and  prepare  for  glorifying  him  more  perfectly  beyond 
the  grave.  Indeed,  it  is  our  enjoyment  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  which  proves  our  sincerity,  for  when  we 
truly  love  God  we  must  find  his  service  a  great  delight. 
Jesus,  our  divine  Master  and  holy  example,  served  God 


Lect.  I.]        THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.  15 

for  the  "joy  that  was  set  before  him,"  counting  it  his 
meat  and  his  drink  to  do  the  will  of  his  heavenly  Fa- 
ther, and  we  follow  in  his  steps  when  we  fight  the 
Christian  fight,  rmi  the  Christian  race,  and  keep  the 
Christian  faith,  cheered  by  the  hope  of  winning  through 
grace  the  crown  of  life,  which  God  for  Christ's  sake 
has  prepared  for  all  who  love  him.  It  is  because  God 
would  animate  our  zeal  by  such  motives  that  he  has 
given  us  so  many  exceeding  great  and  precious  prom- 
ises, causing  the  holy  Scriptures  to  be  "  written  for  our 
learning,  that  we  through  faith  and  comfort  in  the 
Scriptures  might  have  hope." 

There  is  much  meaning  in  the  use  of  the  word  com- 
fort, to  express  the  Chi'istian's  enjoyment  of  religion,  as 
it  supposes  that  the  person  who  is  comforted  would 
otherwise  be  oppressed  by  trouble.  The  angels  are 
happy  in  heaven,  but  they  need  no  comfort,  for  they 
have  no  sorrow.  Our  first  parents  needed  no  comfort 
until  sin  brought  trouble  upon  them ;  but  Lamech 
called  the  name  of  his  son  Noah  (or  Mest),  because, 
said  he  :  "  This  same  shall  comfort  us  concerning  our 
work  and  toil  of  our  hands,  because  of  the  ground 
which  the  Lord  hath  cursed."  Religion  does  not  at 
once  deliver  us  out  of  trouble  ;  on  the  contrary,  "  it 
is  good  for  us  to  be  aftlicted  ;  "  but  it  comforts  us  in 
tribulations,  through  which  we  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God,  enabling  us  to  bear  with  patience  our  many  sor- 
rows, and  to  resist  with  courage  our  many  temptations, 
by  the  assurance  that  God  loves  vis  now,  and  has  pro- 
vided for  us  an  eternal  rest  hereafter.  When  we  reach 
heaven  we  shall  need  no  comfort,  because  our  troubles 
will  be  over  forever. 

Hence  the  Catechism  speaks  of  our  "  comfort  in  life 


16  THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  L 

and  death."  While  life  lasts  our  troubles  will  last,  and 
death  is  a  fearful  trial  to  the  stoutest  heart ;  but  when 
we  have  passed  through  and  survived  that  final  agony, 
our  joy  will  be  perfect  and  secure.  Until  then  we  have 
great  need  of  comfort,  and  find  it  in  our  Christian  re- 
ligion, which,  though  it  does  not  make  our  present  life 
perfectly  happy  (for  this  is  not  our  rest),  is  rich  in 
comfort  to  all  that  believe.  Hence  the  Holy  Ghost, 
through  whose  gracious  influences  we  receive  the  truths 
of  the  Gospel,  is  called  the  Comforter,  and  those  who 
enjoy  his  grace  are  said  to  "  walk  in  the  comfort  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  Of  this  the  Apostle  Paul,  our  best 
example  of  a  Christian,  and  of  a  Christian  preacher 
after  Christ,  had  sweet  experience,  as  we  know  from 
many  texts  in  his  writings,  but  especially  from  the 
preface  of  his  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  : 
"■  Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God 
of  all  comfort,  who  comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribula- 
tion, that  Ave  may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which  are 
in  any  trouble,  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves 
are  comforted  of  God." 

This  is  the  believer's  "  only  comfort."  They,  who 
have  never  acquainted  themselves  with  the  God  of 
salvation,  may  find  some  passing  comfort  in  things  of 
the  present  world,  but  at  the  end  will  reap  shame  and 
eternal  disappointment,  since  things  gross  and  perish- 
able can  never  satisfy  the  spiritual  and  immortal  soul ; 
but  the  Christian  looks  up  to  God,  saying  :  "  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon 
earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee.  My  flesh  and  my 
heart  faileth  ;  but  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart, 
and    my   portion    forever."      He    is    conscious   of   his 


Lect.  I.]        THE  ONLY  COMFOKT   OF  BELIEVERS.  17 

spiritual  immortality,  and  knows  that  God  alone  can  fill 
his  immortality  with  blessedness.  He  draws  many  com 
forts  through  the  creatures  of  God,  but  only  through 
them  as  the  channels  in  which  they  flow  down  to  him 
from  God,  the  overflowing  Fountain.  Without  God,  he 
has  nothing ;  with  God,  he  has  all  things.  It  is  the  truths 
of  religion  which  assure  him  of  the  Divine  favor  to  his 
soul ;  and,  therefore,  in  religion  he  finds  his  only  comfort. 
The  Catechism  is  right  in  its  first  question,  for  it  puts 
our  religion  to  the  closest  proof,  when  it  demands : 
"  What  is  our  only  comfort  in  life  and  in  death  ?  " 

The  believer's  answer  to  this  question,  states,  first^ 
a  main  fact ;  then,  the  particulars  contained  in  the 
fact. 

I.  A  main  fact. 

"  That  I  with  my  body  and  soul,  both  in  life  and 
death,  am  not  my  own,  but  belong  unto  my  faithful 
Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 

The  natural  pride  of  man's  heart  resists  the  thought 
of  subjection  to  God,  and  of  dependence  upon  him. 
This  was  the  essence  of  man's  fijst  sin,  Avhen,  tempted 
by  the  devil,  he  sought  to  be  si^j^p  unto  himself.  So, 
every  man,  unconverted  fromJCM  iniquity  of  the  fall, 
loves  not  to  retain  the  though t^F God,  but  walks  after 
the  choice  of  his  own  heart.  He  would,  perhaps,  shrink 
from  denying  the  existence  or  sovereign  providence  of 
God  ;  but,  practically,  every  man  who  does  not  live  in 
the  fear  of  God,  depending  gratefully  upon  divine  care 
and  conscious  of  his  responsibility  to  the  Great  Judge, 
is  an  atheist  at  heart.  The  Christian  has  been  changed 
from  this  proud  temper  by  faith  in  the  Gospel ;  and 
he  considers  it  his  happiness  that  he  is  not  his  own 
but  belongs  to  God  in  Christ ;  that  he  is  the  Lord's, 


18  THE  ONLY  COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  I 

not  only  by  creation,  for  surely  what  is  made  out  of 
nothing  belongs  to  the  Maker,  but  also  by  redemption, 
because  having  been  rescued  from  eternal  ruin,  he  is 
the  rightful  property  of  his  Saviour  ;  that  his  body  is 
the  Lord's,  from  whom  its  life  with  all  its  faculties  is 
derived,  and  by  whom,  when  death  returns  it  to  the 
dust,  it  will  be  kept  for  a  glorious  immortality ;  that 
his  soul  is  the  Lord's,  with  all  its  capacities  and  affec- 
tions, to  be  taught,  ruled,  sanctified,  and  employed  by 
him  for  his  glory ;  that  his  life  is  the  Lord's,  to  be  spent 
in  his  holy,  pleasant  service  ;  and  that  his  death  is  the 
Lord's,  because  his  closing  triumph  here,  and  his  eter- 
nal being  after,  will  praise  the  mercy  of  his  Redeemer, 
through  whose  gracious  power  he  is  raised  from  the 
depths  of  sin  to  the  heights  of  heaven. 

He  belongs  to  Christ  by  a  threefold  obligation. 
Christ  has  bought  him.  His  life  and  happiness  were 
forfeit  to  divine  justice ;  but  Christ  has  redeemed 
him  from  eternal  death  by  the  substitution  of  himself 
to  bear  the  wrath  of  God,  and  so  Christ  has  acquired 
a  full  right  over  him,  as  the  purchase  of  his  atonement. 
First,  he  belonged  to  God  his  Creator,  then  he  was  in 
the  righteous  hands  of  God  his  Judge,  but  now  he  be- 
longs  to  God  the  Saviour.  "  Thine  they  were,"  said 
the  blessed  Mediator,  speaking  of  his  disciples  to  the 
Father,  "  and  thou  gavest  them  me."  The  Father,  as 
the  representative  of  the  Godhead  against  whom  they 
had  sinned,  gives  them  to  the  incarnate  Son  as  the 
representative  of  both  the  Godhead  and  the  Church  in 
the  plan  of  salvation  ;  but  gives  them  not  without  a 
price.  They  are  delivered,  transferred,  set  over  to  the 
Saviour  by  virtue  of  the  eternal  covenant.  Christ  has 
fulfilled  his  part  in  satisfying  the  honor  of  the  divine 


L.ECT.  I.]    THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.       19 

law  which  they  had  broken,  and  now  the  Father  fulfils 
his  part  in  giving  them  to  Christ  as  his  own  peculiar 
property.  Wherefore  the  apostle  says :  "  Ye  are  not  your 
own,  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price :  therefore,  glorify 
God  in  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's." 
Again,  we  are  exhorted  to  look  for  the  "  appearing 
of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who 
gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  (or 
a  people  of  his  own)  zealous  of  good  works."  Yet 
again :  "  Forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  ye  were  not 
redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold 
....  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of 
a  lamb  (a  lamb  sacrificed  for  sin)  without  blemish 
and  without  spot."  All  the  property  which  God,  as 
Creator  and  Judge,  had  in  the  believer  is  now  trans- 
ferred to  God  the  Saviour. 

This  the  believer  acknowledges  when  he  accepts  the 
atoning  work  of  Christ.  He  is,  therefore,  Christ's  by 
Ms  own  voio.  He  gives,  surrenders  himself  to  Christ, 
making  a  covenant  with  him,  promising  on  his  part  to 
serve  the  Saviour  by  divine  help  all  the  days  of  his 
life,  and  Christ  on  his  part  engaging  to  save  him  until 
the  uttermost. 

Then,  as  a  gracious  consequence,  the  believer  belongs 
to  Christ  because  he  is  a  member  of  that  spiritual  body, 
ivliose  Head  is  Christ.  There  is  much  meant  by  the 
mystery  of  the  believer's  union  with  the  body  of  Christ, 
which  he  cannot  at  present  understand  ;  but  this  we  do 
know,  that  through  faith  he  lives,  because  Christ's  life 
is  in  him,  that  he  is  corporated  with  Christ  in  the  en- 
joyment of  all  those  blessings  which  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  has  obtained  from  the  Father  ;  and  that  he  is 


:20  THE  ONLY   COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  L 

one  with  Christ  in  all  the  future  glorj  of  his  Head. 
It  is  thus  a  vital  union  ;  the  heliever  is  a  member  of 
Ciu'ibt's  "  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones  ;  "  it  is 
a  fruitful  union,  Christ  animating  him  to  all  good 
works  ;  for,  by  another  figure,  he  is  said  to  be  grafted 
in  Christ  as  a  branch  in  a  vine,  which  bears  fruit  from 
the  energy  diffused  through  it  by  the  vigorous  stem  ; 
it  is  an  indissoluble  union,  for  the  body  cannot  be  separ- 
ated from  its  immortal  Head  ;  "  because  I  live,"  says 
the  Saviour,  "  ye  shall  live  also." 

Therefore  does  the  Christian  rejoice  that  he  is  "  not 
his  own,  but  belongs  unto  his  faithful  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."  Were  he  his  own,  he  would  be  left  to  the 
care  of  himself;  but  now  because  he  is  Christ's,  Christ 
will  take  care  of  him  as  his  own,  as  the  purchase  of  his 
blood,  as  a  member  of  his  body,  as  the  instrument  of 
his  glory,  and  as  a  trophy  of  his  triumphant  grace. 
This  leads  us  to  consider  — 

II.   The  particulars  included  by  the  main  fact. 

1.  Pardon.  —  Christ  "hath  fully  satisfied  by  his  own 
blood  for  all  his  sins."  Did  he  belong  to  himself,  he 
would  be  obliged  to  meet  in  his  own  person  all  the 
guilty  consequences  of  his  many  offences  against  God, 
and  be  unavoidably  overwhelmed  by  eternal  wrath ; 
but  now  Christ  claims  him  at  the  hands  of  divine  jus- 
tice as  his  ;  interposing  his  atonement  between  the  ven- 
geance of  God  and  his  ransomed  one,  covering  the 
unworthy  with  his  merits,  representing  the  penitent  in 
liis  ever-prevalent  prayers,  claiming  for  him  acceptance 
with  himself,  in  whom  the  Father  is  well  pleased.  Oh, 
how  precious,  in  this  light,  is  the  fact  that  we  belong 
not  to  ourselves,  but  to  our  faithful  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ ! 


Lect.  1  ]        THE  ONLY   COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.  21 

2.  Deliverance  from  danger.  —  "  And  hath  delivered 
me  from  all  power  of  the  devil."  Tliis  deliverance  is 
twofold.  The  devil,  full  of  malice  against  men,  is 
employed  by  God  as  an  executioner  of  divine  ven- 
geance ;  and  in  this  permitted  capacity  he  claims  the 
imnenitent  for  his  victims  ;  but  our  faithful  Saviour, 
stronger  than  our  arch-enemy,  and  in  his  right  as  the 
Redeemer,  rescues  the  captive  out  of  his  cruel  hands. 
So  far  as  sin  had  given  Satan  a  right  over  the  body 
and  soul  of  the  sinner  that  calls  to  Christ  for  help,  he 
destroys  death  and  him  that  has  the  power  of  death  ; 
placino;  the  penitent,  now  his  own,  eternally  beyond 
his  baffled  rage.  This  deliverance,  however,  is  a  part 
of  pai'don,  which  we  have  already  treated  of. 

But  sinners  are  said  by  the  Scripture  to  put  them- 
selves wilfully  under  the  control  of  the  devil,  when 
they  comply  with  his  temptations.  They  admit  his 
sophisms,  by  which  he  leads  the  godless  astray,  into 
their  minds,  and  so  their  conscience  is  deadened  or 
perverted ;  their  crimes  against  God,  often  repeated, 
acquire  the  fettering  force  of  habit ;  nay,  they  get  a 
fearful  proclivity  to  evil,  accelerating  in  impulse  as 
they  go  downward,  until,  if  divine  grace  do  not  arrest 
them,  they  plunge  from  the  wickedness  of  this  Avorld 
to  the  yet  more  awful  wickedness  of  hell.  Hence 
they  are  said  to  be  "  sold  (like  slaves)  under  sin  ;  "  to 
be  "  led  captive  of  the  devil ;  "  to  be  "  in  bondage  to 
Satan."  Oh,  how  shall  the  sinner,  if  left  to  himself, 
break  these  more  than  iron  chains  ?  How  shall  he  de- 
liver himself  from  this  fatal  bondage  ?  How  shall  he 
escape  from  his  cunning,  cruel  master  ?  "  Blessed  be 
God  !  "  exclaims  the  penitent  believer,  "  I  belong  to 
my   faithful   Saviour  Jesus   Christ ;    he    is  my  master 


22  THE  ONLY  COMFORT  OF  BELIEVERS.         [Lect.  I. 

now ;  he  has  bought  me  for  his  own  with  his  most 
precious  blood ;  he  will  not  leave  me  in  my  helpless- 
ness ;  by  his  Holy  Spirit  he  will  break  the  fetters  from 
my  soul ;  he  will  give  me  liberty  ;  his  love  will  be  a 
refuge  where  my  old  master  cannot  reach  me.  Stronger 
is  he  that  is  for  me,  than  all  that  be  ao'ainst  me."  The 
deliverance  may  not  be  complete  at  once,  for  sancti- 
fication,  in  the  wise  process  of  grace,  is  a  gradual 
work ;  the  devil  yields  not  his  possession  of  our  hearts 
easily,  and  the  conflict  there  of  sin  with  godliness  may 
be  sharp  ;  but  the  deliverance  is  begun  in  regeneration  ; 
it  Is  carried  on  by  an  Almighty  Power ;  its  certainty  is 
assured  by  divine  promise.  The  charm  of  Satan  over 
the  believer  is  met  by  a  master  charm  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  "  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins." 
The  Seed  of  the  woman  has  so  bruised  the  old  ser- 
pent's head,  that  the  weakest  saint  shall  break  him 
down  under  foot,  and  trample  over  him  into  life,  free- 
dom, and  joy  eternal.  Oh,  thanks  again  to  God,  that 
Christ  owns  us,  and  we  are  not  our  own ! 

3.  Preservation.  —  "  And  so  preserves  me,  that  with- 
out the  will  of  my  heavenly  Father,  not  a  hair  can  fall 
from  my  head ;  yea,  that  all  things  shall  be  subservient 
to  my  salvation."  If,  instead  of  belonging  to  his  Saviour, 
the  Christian  owned  himself,  his  condition  were  most 
miserable,  for  he  would  own  nothing  but  himself,  while 
all  around  him  —  all  that  is  necessary  to  his  happiness, 
all  present  and  future  events  affecting  his  welfare,  are 
the  Lord's,  and  ordered  by  the  Lord,  on  whose  good- 
ness he  has  no  claim  ;  he  would  be  alone,  helpless, 
utterly  destitute  and  needy.  Now,  Christ  owns  him  ; 
and  as  a  faithful  master  cares  for  his  own  servant, 
whom  he  has  bought  so  dearly ;    and  all   things   are 


Lect.  I.]        THE  ONLY  COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.  23 

Christ's,  and  he  turns  all  things  for  the  good  of  his 
own.  The  God  of  salvation  is  the  God  of  adoption. 
The  believer  is  united  to  the  onlj-begotten  Son  of  God 
incarnate,  therefore  God  adopts  him  as  his  child ;  and 
the  heavenly  Father  will  never  suffer  any  real  evil  to 
come  upon  his  regenerate  children.  When  the  Father 
gave  to  Christ  the  sinners  whom  he  redeems,  he  gave 
all  things  into  Christ's  hands,  that  he  might  be  Head 
over  all  things  to  his  Church.  All  power  is  given  unto 
Christ,  and  all  his  sovereign  prerogative  he  employs  for 
the  benefit  of  his  own  peculiar  people.  He  has  made 
their  eternal  salvation  his  glory,  and  none  can  pluck 
those  whom  he  preserves  out  of  his  affectionate  em- 
brace. Life  is  the  time  of  the  Christian's  preparation 
for  eternity ;  every  thing  that  concerns  him  here  has  a 
bearing  upon  his  state  hereafter,  therefore  does  his 
faithful  Saviour  take  the  tenderest  care  of  him  now 
and  until  he  is  brought  home.  He  is  "  kept  by  the 
power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be 
revealed  in  the  last  time."  So  nice  and  intense  is  this 
care  that  the  very  hairs  of  his  head  are  numbered. 
Not  one  of  them  falls  to  the  ground  without  his  Fa- 
ther's will.  Nay,  all  things  work  together  for  his  good. 
The  process  is  begun,  is  now  carried  on,  and  will  be 
steadily  furthered  until  the  design  is  consummated  in 
the  believer's  full  redemption.  Cheerfully,  then,  does 
the  believer  commit  his  all  to  Him  to  whom  he  has 
committed  himself;  his  time,  to  him  who  takes  charge 
of  his  eternity,  the  regulation  of  his  circumstances  on 
earth,  to  him  who  has  prepared  for  him  a  blissful  heaven. 
If  he  had  the  care  of  himself,  he  might  well  despair ; 
but  now  that  Christ  has  the  care  of  him,  he  knows  he  is 
safe,  —  his  body  safe,  his  soul  safe,  safe  in  life,  safe  in 


24  THE  ONLY  COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.         [Lect.  I. 

death,  safe  forever.  His  griefs  may  be  many,  his 
temptations  strong,  his  infirmity  extreme,  and  therefore 
he  cannot  help  being  troubled ;  but  he  has  comfort 
amidst  all,  because  he  belongs  to  his  faithful  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  grace  is  sufficient  for  him. 

4.  Assurance.  —  "  By  his  Holy  Spirit  he  also  assures 
me  of  eternal  life,  and  makes  me  sincerely  willing  and 
ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  him."  Man,  left  to  his 
own  unassisted  reason,  could  never  have  ascertained 
the  character  or  will  of  God,  much  less  discovered  the 
plan  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ ;  but  the  faith- 
ful Saviour  having  undertaken  to  rescue  his  own  from 
all  the  consequences  of  their  sins,  makes  their  instruc- 
tion sure  by  the  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  Holy  men 
of  old  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  write  the 
books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  which  together 
constitute  the  Word  of  God,  our  only  rule  of  faith  and 
practice ;  and  therefore  all  we  know  of  religion  we 
have  been  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Scriptures 
are,  hovrever,  by  themselves  addressed  to  men  or  Chris- 
tians (as  the  case  may  be)  generally ;  and  experience, 
nay,  the  Word  itself,  shows  that  no  man  applies  the 
testimony  of  the  revelation  to  his  own  case,  until  the 
same  divine  Agent  who  inspired  the  testimony  moves 
the  sinner's  heart  to  perceive  himself  addressed  by  it ; 
but  then  discovering  his  guilt  and  danger,  he  also  sees 
the  sufficiency  of  atonement  offered  on  his  behalf,  and 
trusts  in  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  Such  personal  faith  — 
the  appropriating  of  the  Gospel  to  our  own  souls  —  is 
the  effect  of  the  Spirit's  testimony  in  our  hearts  corre- 
sponding to  his  testimony  in  the  Scriptures,  and  consti- 
tutes our  assurance  of  salvation,  —  by  which  salvation 
we  mean,  according  to  Scripture,  the  full  accomplish- 


Lect.  I.]         THE  ONLY   COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.  25 

ment  of  the  Saviour's  purpose  of  eternal  love  toward 
the  sinner  that  believes  on  his  name.  Thus  we  read : 
"  No  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  "  and  again  :  "  He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in  himself;  "  and  yet 
again  :  "As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  ye  have  not  received 
the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear;  but  ye  have  re- 
ceived the  spirit  of  adoption  whereby  ye  cry,  Abba, 
Father.  The  Spirit  also  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God ;  and  if  children, 
then  heirs ;  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Cln'ist." 
The  promise  assures  complete  salvation  to  all  who  be- 
lieve ;  when,  therefore,  we  believe,  God  by  his  own 
testimony  assures  complete  salvation  unto  us. 

But  it  will  be  asked.  May  not  a  sinner  deceive  him- 
self in  thinking  that  he  believes  when  he  does  not  ? 
Is  there  not  a  counterfeit  of  true  faith  ?  and  if  so,  how 
may  we  attain  the  assurance  of  our  salvation  ?  The 
Catechism  meets  the  inquiry.  There  is  indeed  a  coun- 
terfeit faith,  but  it  may  be  detected  by  its  fruitlessness, 
while  on  the  other  hand  a  true  faith  shows  itself  in  its 
sanctifying  effect  on  the  life  and  character.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  Saviour  is  to  save  his  people  from  their 
sins ;  perfect  salvation,  which  is  perfect  holiness,  is 
achieved  only  in  heaven,  but  it  is  begun  on  earth. 
Repentance  is  the  beginning  of  salvation,  the  pulsa- 
tions of  a  new  life  which  is  eternal.  The  believer  is 
conscious  of  this  great  change.  He  is  yet  a  sinner,  he 
sees  his  sinfulness  more  plainly  than  ever,  he  feels  his 
weakness  and  utter  inability  to  contend  with  the  temp- 
tations that  beset  him  ;  but  he  no  longer  delights  in 
sin  ;  his  desire  is  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and,  by  divine 


26  THE  ONLY  COMFORT   OF  BELIEVERS.        [Lect.  L 

help,  to  resist  all  evil.  Amidst  all  his  failures  and 
imperfections  he  discovei's  a  new  principle  at  work  in 
his  soul  which  can  have  been  engendered  there  only 
by  divine  power.  This  is  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit. 
The  same  Holy  One  who  testifies  in  the  Scriptures  and 
in  the  hearts  of  sinners,  testifies  in  the  believer's  life, 
making  him  who  was  once  a  rebel  now  "  sincerely 
willing  and  ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  Christ."  Oh 
what  a  happiness,  what  a  comfort  it  is,  that  we  belong 
unto  Christ,  who  not  only  has  died  for  us,  but  by  his 
Spirit  lives  in  us,  working  through  us  his  holy  pur- 
pose !  When  we  can  claim  this  comfort,  "  Christ  is 
formed  in  us  the  hope  of  glory." 

Secondly:  The  method  by  which  the  Christian 
attains  a  knoivledge  of  this  comfort. 

This  is  not  the  time  to  dwell  upon  the  answer  to  the 
Second  Question,  as  it  only  sets  forth  in  brief  what  will 
be  shown  more  fully  hereafter.  The  order  given  is, 
however,  most  natural,  and  according  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Scriptures. 

I.  He  must  know  how  great  his  sins  and  miseries 
are.  Unless  he  knows  himself  to  be  a  sinner,  he  will 
not  feel  his  need  of  pardon  ;  unless  he  sees  his  miseries, 
he  will  not  see  his  need  of  a  Saviour ;  unless  he  feels 
that  his  sins  and  miseries  are  great,  he  will  not  be 
zealous  in  escaping  from  them  to  the  great  salvation 
provided  for  him.  None  but  those  who  are  conscious 
of  being  lost  can  discover  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour 
they  need.  This  is  set  forth  in  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  Lord's  days. 

II.  He  must  know  how  he  may  be  delivered  fiom 
all  his  sins  and  miseries.  This  includes  a  knowledge 
of  the  Avhole  Gospel,  —  the  purpose  of  God,  the  media 


Lect.  I.]        THE  ONLY   COMFOKT  OF  BELIEVERS.  27 

tion  of  Christ,  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
is  taught  from  the  fifth  to  the  thirty-second  Lord's 
days. 

III.  He  must  know  how  to  express  his  gratitude  for 
such  deliverance  to  God  his  Saviour.  This  includes 
all  his  duty,  to  which  the  Catechism  gives  the  yet 
higher  name  of  gratitude ;  the  true  Christian  being 
moved  to  render  it  with  a  cheerful  zeal,  not  only  be- 
cause God  has  a  right  in  him,  but  also  because  he  de- 
lights in  recognizing  and  meeting  the  claims  of  a  Bene- 
factor so  gracious,  upon  all  his  heart  and  mind  and  life. 
This  is  treated  of  from  the  thirty-second  to  the  last 
Lord's  day. 

May  God  assist  our  farther  studies  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  that  we,  being  convinced  of  sin  and  made  to 
know  the  preciousness  of  Christ,  may  find  our  only 
comfort  in  his  choice  of  us,  and  our  choice  of  him  as 
our  Saviour,  Master,  and  eternal  Friend.     Amen. 


LECTURE  II. 

THE   KNOWLEDGE   OF   OUR   MISERY. 


SECOND  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   KNOWLEDGE  OF   OUR   MISERY. 

Quest.  III.     Whence  knowest  thou  thy  misery  f 

Ans.     Out  of  the  law  of  God. 

Quest.  IV.     What  doth  the  law  of  God  require  of  us? 

Ans.  Christ  teaches  us  that  briefly,  Matt.  xxii.  37-40:  "Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with 
all  thy  mind,"  and  with  all  thy  strength.  "  This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment;  and  the  second  is  like  unto  it:  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets." 

Quest.  V.     Canst  thou  keep  all  these  things  perfectly  f 

Ans.     In  no  wise ;  for  I  am  prone  by  nature  to  hate  God  and  my  neighbor. 

npHE  blessed  Master  himself  declares  the  reason  and 
-^  purpose  of  his  mediatorial  work,  when  he  says  : 
"  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost."  Had  not  God  been  angry  with  ns  we  should 
not  have  been  miserable ;  had  we  not  sinned  against 
God,  he  would  not  have  been  angry  with  us ;  had  we 
the  power  of  reconciling  ourselves  to  God,  we  should 
not  have  needed  a  Saviour  ;  had  not  our  condemnation 
been  very  great,  we  should  not  have  needed  so  great  a 
Saviour  ;  and  had  not  God,  our  righteous  Judge,  been 
infinitely  merciful,  he  would  not  have  "  sent  his  Only 
Begotten  Son,  that  whoso  believeth  in  him  might  not 
perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  It  was  our  ruin  that 
moved  the  pity  of  God,  our  helplessness  that  brought 
his  Son  to  be  our  Saviour,  our  guiltiness  that  made  the 
Saviour  a  sinless  sufferer  in  our  nature,  obedient  until 
death  on  our  behalf.  To  understand  and  appreciate 
the  salvation  by  Christ,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
.  know  our  misery,  its  source,  its  extent,  and  our  utter 


32  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  II 

dependence  upon  divine  grace  tln-ougli  Chris*  for  par- 
don, favor,  a  new  life,  and  immortal  happiness.  To 
teach  us  this  is  the  design  of  the  Church,  as  opened 
in  the  section  of  her  Catechism  for  the  second  Lord's 
day  ;  from  which  we  learn, 

First  :   The  Test  of  our  condition : 
The  Law  of  God. 

Secondly  :   The  Requirements  of  the  Law  : 
Supreme  love  to  God  our  Lord,  and  love  to  our  neigh- 
bor as  ourselves. 

Thirdly  :    Our  Inahility  to  fulfil  those  Hequiremenfs : 
Being  prone  "  by  nature  to  hate  God  and  my  neigh- 
bor." 

First  :  The  Law  of  God  is  the  test  of  our  condition : 
According  to  the  Second  Question  and  Answer,  the 
first  branch  of  Christian  inquiry  is :  "  How  great  our  sins 
and  miseries  are."  The  Third  Question  is:  "Whence 
knowest  thou  thy  misery  ?  "  the  term  sin  not  being  re- 
peated; yet  the  answer  is  :  "  Out  of  the  iaw  of  God  ; " 
which  is  an  implied  assertion  that  our  misery  is  penal 
or  the  effect  of  sin,  being  our  punishment  as  sinners, 
and,  therefore,  in  proportion  to  our  sins.  The  word 
and  character  of  God  allow  of  no  other  conclusion, 
since  we  cannot  believe  that  he  who  delights  in  good- 
ness and  mercy  would  willingly,  or  without  reason,  af- 
flict his  creatures.  Our  misery  can  come  only  from  his 
anger,  and  he  is  angry  only  with  the  wicked.  His 
iavor,  which  includes  all  blessings,  is  promised  to  the 
obedient ;  his  curse,  which  includes  all  miseries,  is 
threatened  acjainst  the  disobedient.  The  degree  of 
our  sin  is,  therefore,  the  measure  of  our  misery,  and 
that  we  may  ascertain  this  Ave  must  look  into  the  Law 
of  God ;  for  if  we  have  not  kept  its  precepts,  the  pen- 


Lect.  11.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.  33 

allies  annexed  show  the  guilt,  or  obnoxiousness,  liability 
to  punishment,  which  we  have  brought  upon  onrselves. 
Hence  the  Law  of  God  is  the  only  true  test  of  our  con- 
dition. This  is  the  argument  in  brief,  which  we  may, 
not  without  profit,  examine  more  particularly. 

1st.  God  is  Sovereign  ;  by  which  we  understand, 
that  he  has  the  right  to  rule,  that  he  has  the  power  to 
rule,  and  that  he  does  rule  over  all.  To  deny  this  were 
atheism  ;  for  the  fundamental  idea  of  God  is :  The  First 
Cause  of  all  things.  The  First  Cause  must  be  self-ex- 
istent and  independent  of  all.  The  same  will  which 
alone  could  create,  alone  can  preserve ;  and,  therefore, 
God  must  rule  over  all.  The  creation  includes  moral 
beings,  or  beings  who  have  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong, 
with  powers  to  act  accordingly;  therefore,  the  admis- 
istration  of  the  Supreme  Will  must  be  a  moral  govern- 
ment. Thus  the  fact  of  our  existence  proves  that  we 
belong  to  God;  the  fact  of  our  preservation,  that  we 
are  under  the  control  of  God;  and  the  fact  of  our  mor- 
al consciousness,  that  we  are  subject  to  the  moral  gov- 
ernment of  God.  If  our  lives  be  in  harmony  with  the 
principles  of  the  divine  government,  no  evil  can  reach 
us,  because  our  Preserver  is  Sovereign  over  all ;  but  if 
we  are  at  variance  with  his  will,  no  good  can  reach  us 
for  the  same  reason. 

But  how  may  we  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  divine 
will  which  should  be  the  rule  of  our  lives,  and  in  our 
conformity  or  opposition  to  which  we  are  to  find  happi- 
ness or  miserj'  ?  The  Catechism  answers  :  "  Out  of 
the  Law  of  God ; "  that  is,  out  of  the  Law  which  God 
has  revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  For  it  is  clear 
that  none  but  God,  whose  infinite  wisdom  arranged  and 
ordained  the  principles  on  which  he  administers  his  will, 


34  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  II, 

can  discover  wliat  those  principles  are.  These  may  be 
dimly  perceived  in  the  processes  of  Providence  around 
us,  or  what  is  sometimes  called  the  fitness  of  things ; 
but  not  sufficiently,  for  besides  that  we  cannot,  from  the 
weakness  of  our  reason,  accurately  trace  the  visible  ef- 
fects back  to  their  unseen  causes,  the  development  of 
those  effects  is  as  yet  very  partial.  If  we  were  left  to- 
learn  the  will  of  God  concerning  our  duty  from  the 
manifestations  of  his  providence,  we  should  have  to 
wait  until  eternity  before  we  could  begin  our  obedience, 
for  only  in  eternity  those  manifestations  are  complete. 
There  are  a  thousand  seeming  discrepancies  in  the 
providential  administration  of  human  affairs,  which 
God  will  not  vindicate  until  he  consummates  his  migh- 
ty  scheme  at  the  catastrophe  of  the  Judgment.  So 
oppressively  embarrassing  are  these  difficulties,  that  the 
very  advocates  of  Natural  Religion,  who  bid  us  learn 
the  character  of  God  and  our  duty  from  the  fitness  of 
things,  make  them  their  strongest,  but  far  from  satis- 
factory, argument  for  a  future  state  of  reward  and  pun- 
ishment. 

Neither  can  conscience  be  a  trustworthy  oracle.  For 
conscience  does  not  itself  determine  right  or  wrong,  but 
is  only  our  faculty  of  recognizing  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  right  and  the  wrong,  when  they  are  present- 
ed to  us.  Recognition  is  very  different  from  discovery. 
It  is  one  thing  to  perceive  a  path  when  it  is  marked  out 
for  us,  and  another  to  find  out  a  path  for  ourselves , 
so  it  is  one  thing  to  see  the  right  when  God  makes  it 
known,  and  another  to  decide  upon  what  is  right  with- 
out his  aid.  This  last  is  utterly  beyond  the  prerogative 
or  the  power  of  conscience.  Indeed,  conscience  needs 
education  like  any  other  human  faculty,  and  education 


Lect.  II.3        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.  35 

supposes  some  fixed  fundamental  rules  to  which  it  must 
be  conformed.  No  faithful  parent  leaves  his  child  to 
learn  morals  from  its  conscience,  but  presses  rules  of 
right  upon  its  conscience.  The  variety  of  moral  opin- 
ions among  men  is  so  great,  that  were  it  possible  to  hold 
an  oecumenical  council  of  consciences,  there  is  scarcely  a 
point  of  morals  on  which  their  decree  would  be  unani- 
mous. Nay,  the  revolutions  of  moral  sentiment  in  the 
same  man  at  different  stages  of  his  experience  and 
knowledge,  show  how  uncertain  and  even  capricious 
the  judgments  of  conscience  are  when  left  to  itself. 

Besides,  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscience,  with- 
out a  distinct  reference  to  the  will  of  God,  is  not  right, 
since  that  were  making  conscience  and  not  God  our 
Judge  and  Lord.  For  a  man  to  think  that  he  can  do 
no  wrong  while  he  follows  his  conscience,  unless  his 
conscience  be  regulated  by  the  will  of  God,  is  a  self- 
idolatry  and  an  atheistical  pride.  A  human  govern- 
ment does  not  try  its  subjects  by  their  consciences, 
but  by  its  own  laws ;  and  excuses  a  violation  of  its 
laws  only  in  those  who  are  not  capable  of  perceiving 
what  those  laws  require.  So  will  God  try  us  by  the 
laws  of  his  kingdom,  not  by  our  own  imaginations. 

The  judgments  of  individuals  being  so  imperfect,  the 
general  opinions  of  n^nkind  must  be  also  unworthy  of 
confidence.  A  long  and  traditional  experience  of  the 
good  or  ill  effects  consequent  upon  certain  courses  of 
action,  may  have  led  the  world  to  agree  respecting  some 
matters  immediately  affecting  our  interests  ;  but  history 
proves  the  failure  of  all  attempts  to  frame  a  system  of 
morals  without  wisdom  from  above.  The  best  and 
wisest  of  the  classical  philosophers  differed  widely 
among  themselves  as  to  the  very  definition  of  virtue ; 


86  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  II, 

while  some,  especially  Socrates,  the  most  exalted  of 
them  all,  humbly  confessed  that  the  line  dividing  right 
from  wrong  could  be  drawn  only  by  the  finger  of 
him  who  presides  over  the  universe. 

God  has  himself  excluded  all  question  on  the  subject, 
by  giving,  in  his  own  revealed  word,  the  law  to  which 
he  commands  our  conformity  on  pain  of  his  curse. 

The  Christian,  therefore,  goes  directly  to  God  for 
instruction,  trusting  neither  to  the  discoveries  of  his 
reason,  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  the  opinions  of 
men,  nor  the  practices  of  the  world.  God  has  the 
sole  right  to  his  service,  and  he  asks  from  God  only 
how  that  service  should  be  rendered.  Thus  he  makes 
the  law  of  God  the  sole  test  of  his  condition,  sees  his 
crimes  in  his  transgressions  of  it,  and  his  misery  in  the 
punishment  which  it  threatens.  Until  he  looks  at  him- 
self in  that  mirror  of  infallible  truth,  he  can  never  judge 
of  his  moral  character ;  until  he  gets  a  response  from 
that  unerring  oracle,  he  can  never  know  what  awaits 
him  at  the  hands  of  his  God.  He  learns  his  "  misery 
out  of  the  law  of  God." 

Secondly  :   The  requirements  of  that  law. 

These  the  Catechism  shows  by  citing  the  words  of 
our  blessed  Lord,  Matt.  xxii.  37-40  ;  though  it  must 
be  noted  that,  in  giving  the  first  great  commandment, 
the  last  clause,  "  and  with  all  thy  strength,"  is  added 
from  the  parallel  passage,  Luke  x.  27 ;  and  that  our 
translator  of  the  Catechism,  by  carelessly  neglecting  to 
copy  the  Scripture  immediately  out  of  his  Bible,  has 
allowed  a  slight  but  displeasing  variation  from  the 
English  text,  which  difference  we  shall  correct. 

"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind  ; " 


Lect.  II.]       THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.  37 

and,  from  Luke,  "  with  all  thy  strength."  "  This  is 
the  first  and  great  commandment.  And  the  second  is 
like  unto  it :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets." 

Our  divine  Saviour  did  not  give  these  comprehensive 
precepts  as  of  himself,  but  brought  them  together  from 
separate  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  ;  the  first  from  Deut. 
vi.  5 :  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mio-ht : "  the  second  from  Lev.  xix.  18  :  "  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  All  that  the  older  scrip- 
tures contain  of  divine  morals,  of  our  duty  to  God  and 
our  service  to  man  for  God's  sake,  are  summed  up  in 
these  two  commandments.  As  the  Apostle  Paul  says, 
Rom.  xiii.  10  :  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  ; " 
and  asain,  1  Tim.  i.  5  :  "  Now  the  end  of  the  com- 
mandment  is  charity  (love),  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and 
of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeigned ;  "  and 
the  Apostle  John  in  his  first  epistle,  iv.  16  :  "  He  that 
dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him  ;  " 
iv.  21 :  "  This  commandment  have  we  from  him  :  That 
he  who  loveth  God,  love  his  brother  also." 

Here  is  the  legislation  infinitely  perfect.  The  stat- 
utes of  human  governments  fill  many  volumes,  and  are 
then  proverbially  indefinite,  while  every  attempt  to  con- 
dense them  has  only  made  the  uncertainty  worse  ;  but 
the  whole  law  of  God  is  written  in  two  sentences,  the 
whole  duty  of  man  in  one  word  :  Love.  This  clear,  con- 
cise rule  covers  all  the  specifications  of  service  which 
God  requires  of  us  in  all  the  various  circumstances  in 
which  we  can  possibly  be  placed.  Love  is  the  bond  of 
perfectness,  the  golden  chain,  Avhich,  depending  from  the 


88  THE  KNOWLEDGE   OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  IL 

throne  of  our  Father  God,  and  returning  to  it  again, 
is  cast  around  the  brotherhood  of  his  human  children, 
binding  us  in  sweet  harmony  with  him  and  with  each 
other. 

Love  has  never  been  accurately  defined,  nor  can  it 
be  ;  but  we  know  its  meaning  from  our  consciousness 
and  from  its  effects.  We  love  that  being  whose  char- 
acter we  approve,  of  whom  we  delight  to  think,  whose 
excellences  we  endeavor  to  imitate,  whose  wishes  we 
desire  to  fulfil  and  in  whose  favor  we  find  happiness. 
Such  affection  we  may,  without  inconsistency,  have  at 
the  same  time  towards  several,  even  many  of  our  hu- 
mankind, according  as  they  have,  through  Providence, 
claims  upon  us  ;  but  our  supreme  love,  comprehending 
all  exercises  of  love  towards  his  creatures,  is  demanded 
by  God  for  himself  alone  :  ''  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength." 

These  several  terms  :  "  heart,"  "  soul,"  "  mind," 
"  strength,"  do  not,  it  should  be  stated,  convey  to  us 
the  precise  meaning  of  the  Greek  or  Hebrew  originals 
which  they  translate,  but  collectively  in  the  entire  verse 
they  give  the  full  meaning  of  the  Scripture.  To  define 
each  of  them  particularly  would  not  be  easy,  and,  if 
practicable,  would  require  a  nice  criticism  too  prolix 
for  the  aim  of  our  present  discoiu'se.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, devoutly  consider  the  scope  of  this  first  and  great 
commandment,  which  is,  that  We  must  render  the  Lord 
our  God  a  supreme,  intelligent,  zealous  love,  freely  conse- 
crating all  our  faculties  to  his  praise,  and  all  our  energies 
to  his  service. 

We  are  to  love  God  supremely.  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart."     Every  motive 


lect.  ii.]      the  knowledge  of  our  misery.  39 

which  prompts  love,  should  urge  us  to  love  God  above 
all.  If  intellectual  excellence  attracts  our  admiring 
regard,  God  is  omniscient,  the  author  of  all  light,  the 
source  of  all  truth  ;  if  moral  beauty  wins  our  affection- 
ate esteem,  his  holiness,  justice,  goodness,  and  mercy  arc 
infinite  ;  if  favors  received  and  favors  expected,  claim 
our  gratitude,  from  him  alone  is  our  being,  with  all  its 
capacities  of  enjoyment,  and  all  we  do  or  can  enjoy  : 
if  rightful  authority,  administered  in  faithfulness  and 
considerate  kindness,  be  entitled  to  a  prompt,  unswerv- 
ing, devoted  loyalty,  he  is  our  Owner  because  our 
Creator,  our  Ruler  because  our  Preserver,  our  Law- 
giver because  Supreme  Lord  of  the  universe,  whose 
precepts  are  our  sure  only  guides  to  happiness,  because 
obedience  is  accordance  with  his  will;  and  his  chosen 
glory,  the  design  of  his  government,  is  the  best  good 
of  his  intelligent  subjects,  comprehending  all,  yet  over- 
looking none.  No  creature,  therefore,  should  be  al- 
lowed to  rival  him  in  our  affections  ;  he  must  have  all 
our  hearts,  and  none  be  admitted  there  except  in  har- 
mony with  our  highest  reverence,  esteem,  and  love  for 
hhn  who  is  the  Lord  our  God. 

We  are  to  love  God  iyitelligently.  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  mind."  God  has  en- 
dowed us  with  understanding  and  reason,  that  we  may 
know  him  and  perceive  the  arguments  wliich  he  ad- 
dresses through  our  minds  to  our  affections.  The 
faculty  of  will  or  choice  which  he  grants  us,  cannot 
be  exercised  rightly  unless  intelligently.  We  are  not 
to  love  even  the  Lord  our  God  Avithout  motive,  or  an 
appreciation  of  his  claims  upon  our  love.  We  are, 
therefore,  to  employ  our  minds,  above  all  else,  in  the 
study  and  contemplation  of  those  claims  that  we  may 


40  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  11. 

by  the  very  force  of  logic,  cheerfully,  yet,  as  it  were, 
of  a  moral  necessity,  fix  our  hearts  supremely  upon 
him  to  whom  of  right  they  belong.  We  must  dili- 
gently read  his  Word,  in  which  he  reveals  himself  for 
our  learning ;  we  must  observe  his  works,  in  which  he 
demonstrates  himself  to  our  senses ;  we  must  investi- 
gate his  doctrines,  meditate  on  his  attributes,  apply  his 
laws  to  our  consciences,  trust  in  his  promises,  set  his 
threatenings  between  us  and  what  he  has  forbidden, 
while  we  practice  his  commands,  that  through  experi- 
ence we  may  be  continually  acquiring  greater  proof 
of  their  wise  goodness  ;  and  especially  must  we  seek 
by  earnest,  humble  prayer  the  sanctifying  grace  of  his 
illuminating  Spirit,  that  in  close,  personal,  habitual  com- 
munion with  God,  we  may  grow  more  like  him  as  we 
know  more  of  him.  Thus  consecrating  all  our  facul- 
ties  to  his  praise,  we  shall  love  the  Lord  our  God  with 
all  our  hearts  and  with  all  our  minds. 

We  are  to  love  God  zealously. 

"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength." 

Soul,  here,  according  to  both  the  originals,  signifies 
the  will,  or  rather  the  determined  purpose  of  a  man  ; 
and  strength,  his  powers  of  external  action.  The  two, 
therefore,  may  be  expressed  by  zeal,  which,  as  Ave  ordi- 
narily understand  it,  is  ardor  of  pursuit,  or  earnest  pur- 
pose carried  out  in  correspondent  action.  A  supreme, 
intelligent  love  for  God  our  Creator,  Sovereign,  and 
Judge,  cannot  be  inoperative.  The  reasons  for  which 
we  love  God,  his  authority  and  character,  show  how 
our  love  is  to  be  proved.  If  we  love  him  as  our  Cre- 
ator, all  our  faculties  should  be  consecrated  to  his  glory , 
if  we  love  him  as  our  Ruler,  we  should  delight  to  obey 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF   OUR  MISERY.  41 

all  his  commandments ;  if  we  love  him  as  our  Bene- 
factor, gratitude  should  make  us  continually  intent  upon 
rendering  him  returns  for  his  kindness.  Thus  we  truly 
love  him  with  all  our  hearts  and  with  all  our  minds, 
only  when  we  endeavor  to  serve  him  with  all  our  pow- 
ers in  their  utmost  energy.  Hence,  love  comprehends 
our  fidelity  to  God  as  his  subjects,  and  our  dutifulness 
as  his  children.  If  we  love  him  with  all  our  hearts, 
and  know  what  he  requires  of  us,  the  entire  conformity 
of  our  lives  to  his  will  is  certainly  secured. 

This  is  the  only  service  which  God  can  accept  or  a 
rational  creature  render.  The  laws  of  man  refer  only 
to  the  external  conduct,  because  the  human  eye  can 
look  no  further ;  yet  is  an  unwilling  obedience  admitted 
to  have  no  merit,  and  we  always  consider  the  good  or 
evil  of  an  act  to  lie  in  the  motive.  But  God  looks  in 
upon  the  heart,  and  according  as  he  sees  that  love  to 
him  is  or  is  not  the  ruling  principle  of  our  actions,  will 
he  accept  or  disown  us,  whatever  our  overt  acts  may 
be.  He,  who  refuses  his  love  to  God,  the  perfection 
of  moral  beauty  and  the  centre  of  all  obligation,  does 
not  love  goodness  or  justice  or  holiness,  evinces  a  spirit 
at  war  with  the  welfare  of  the  universe,  and  is  justly 
punished  for  so  monstrous  a  depravity.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  who  renders  such  love  to  God  is  justly  re- 
warded for  an  obedience  which  on  every  opportunity 
will  be  overtly  shown. 

Such  service  is  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  the 
creature.  Our  happiness  can  come  only  from  God  who 
has  so  fenced  us  in  by  his  laws,  that  our  welfare  de- 
pends on  our  conformity  to  them  ;  but  to  obey  one 
whom  we  do  not  love,  is  to  do  what  we  hate,  thus  turn- 
ing our  seeming  compliance  with  right  into  a  source  or 


42  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lkct.  II. 

misery.  The  highest  reward  of  obedience  is  love,  and 
love  alone  can  earn  it.  Love  is  the  strong  charm  by 
which  God  prompts  the  discharge  of  every  duty  springing 
from  the  relations  of  life,  —  as  the  duty  of  the  husband, 
the  wife,  the  parent,  the  child,  the  friend,  or  the  patriot. 
How  much  more  is  love  necessary  for  our  duties  to 
God !  If  we  love  him,  we  can  never  do  enough  for 
him,  all  our  inclinations  will  be  absorbed  by  a  desire  to 
please  him,  and  his  honor  will  engross  all  our  energies. 

The  Second  Commandment  is  like  to  the  first ;  like 
in  authority,  because  emanating  from  the  same  divine 
source ;  and  like  in  the  character  of  the  duty  which  it 
enjoins.  Love.  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self." It  is  included  in  the  first,  because  he,  who  has 
a  risht  to  all  our  heart  and  all  our  service,  has  the 
right  of  commanding  our  love  and  service  for  those 
whom  he  commends  to  our  regard. 

Our  blessed  Master,  in  his  parable  of  The  Good 
Samaritan,  has  clearly  defined  "  our  neighbor "  to  be 
every  human  being  brought  by  the  providence  of  God 
within  the  reach  of  our  kindness.  The  duty  is  to  God 
the  Father  of  all  men,  and  required  for  our  fellow-man 
as  his  child.  Selfishness  may  restrict  itself  within  nar- 
row boundaries,  but  a  soul  elevated  to  the  love  of  God 
looks  over  all  such  littlenesses  and  comprehends  the 
whole  brotherhood  of  mankind. 

The  decree  of  lovino;  service  which  we  are  to  ren- 
cler  our  neio-hbor  is  to  regard  his  welfare  as  we  do  our 
own.  The  precept  clearly  allows  a  certain  degree  of 
self-love,  and  insists  upon  no  fanciful,  impracticable 
disinterestedness.  I  am  to  love  my  neighbor,  because 
God  is  his  Father ;  but  for  the  same  reason  I  am  to  love 
myself,  since  he  is  my  Father  also,  and  he  has  in  a 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF  OUR  MISERY.  43 

peculiar  degree  committed  my  happiness  to  my  own 
keepino-.  Our  love  for  ourselves  is  taken  for  granted, 
being  the  standard  by  which  our  love  for  our  neighbor 
must  be  adjusted,  and  therefore,  not  inconsistent  with- 
it  ;  so  that  we  should  err  if  we  regarded  another's  wel- 
fare to  the  neglect  of  our  own.  Nor  can  we  love  all 
men  alike,  since  we  are  commanded  by  Scripture  and 
Providence  to  love  some  especially,  as  those  of  our  own 
household  and  those  of  the  household  of  faith.  We 
are  to  love  ourselves  consistently  with  the  law  of  God, 
and  according  to  its  directions ;  so  we  are  to  love  our 
neighbor,  rendering  them  all  that  affectionate  service 
which  God  enjoins  with  the  same  readiness  that  we 
would  benefit  ourselves. 

The  Master  himself  has  given  us  the  best  commen 
tary  on  the  law  of  love  to  our  neighbor,  in  Matthew 
vii.  12,  where  he  says:  "All  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them."  That  is.  Whatever  we  could  properly,  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  God,  expect  from  others  in  certain 
circumstances,  we  are  in  similar  circumstances  to  do 
readily  for  them,  though  they  be  never  so  unworthy 
of  such  kindness,  since  it  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  not 
to  them  personally,  but  to  God,  and  to  them  for  his 
sake.  At  the  same  time,  the  promise  is  distinctly  con- 
veyed that  such  service  of  our  neighbor  has  sure  ten- 
dency to  advance  our  own  welfare. 

How  clear  is  this  rule,  and  how  universally  applica- 
ble, when  we  carry  the  measure  due  to  others  within 
our  own  bosoms !  How  happy  would  the  world  be,  il 
all  men  acted  towards  each  other  on  this  principle  ! 
But  how  vain  must  be  all  attempts  to  secure  the  com- 
mon welfare  of  the  race,  upon  any  system  of  ethics 


44  THE  KNOWLEDGE   OF  OUR  MISERY.        [Lect.  IL 

short  of  that  which  first  hfts  man  out  of  all  sinfal  self- 
ishness to  the  love  of  God,  and  then  enables  him  from 
that  generous  fountain  to  mingle  his  love  with  the  love 
of  the  universal  Father  as  it  descends  in  blessing  upon 
all  his  children  ! 

Farther  discussion  of  these  two  commandments  is 
reserved  for  the  time  when  we  must  consider  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Two  Tables,  given  on  Mount  Sinai. 

Thirdly  :    Our  inability  to  fulfil  these  requirements. 

"  Canst  thou  keep  all  these  things  perfectly  ?  " 

"  In  no  wise  ;  for  I  am  prone  by  nature  to  hate  God 
and  my  neighbor."  This  melancholy  truth  the  Christian 
learns  from  the  Word  of  God  and  from  experience. 

1.  The  terms,  ability,  power,  and  the  like,  originally 
referring  to  physical  matters,  become  very  vague  when 
applied  to  our  moral  being,  the  exercise  of  our  will, 
judgment,  and  affections  ;  nor,  though  some  have  in- 
geniously but  unsatisfactorily  dogmatized  on  the  ques- 
tion, could  we  readily  show  where  man's  moral  impo- 
tence lies,  except  we  be  content  with  acknowledging, 
what  is  the  fact,  that  it  is  a  disorganizing  corruption  of 
tlie  entire  soul.  But,  putting  such  lame  metaphysics 
aside,  and  going  to  the  unerring  Word,  we  find  there  un- 
equivocally stated  the  fact  of  our  own  utter  insufficiency 
to  keep  the  law  of  God.  The  testimonies  to  it  pervade 
the  whole  Scripture,  and  the  Divine  Spirit  labors  to 
express,  in  our  imperfect  language  and  by  such  figures 
as  we  can  understand,  our  complete  ruin  as  moral  crea- 
tures. It  is  declared  that  "  there  is  none  that  doeth 
good,  no,  not  one  ;  "  that  "  the  heart  of  man  is  evil,  and 
only  evil,  and  that  continually;  "  that  "  all  are  concluded 
under  sin,"  conceived  in  sin,  and  brought  forth  in  ini- 
quity ;  that  we  are  not  only  weak,  but,  so  far  as  godly 


Lect.  II.]        THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF   OUR  MISERY.  45 

virtu''  is  concerned,  without  any  strength,  nay,  "  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins."  The  plan  of  salvation  proceeds 
on  this  fact.  When  we  were  impotent,  "  without 
strength,  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly."  "  If  righteous- 
ness "  could  have  "  come  by  the  law  (^.  e.  through  our 
keeping  of  the  law),  then  is  Christ  dead  in  vain." 
That  this  is  true  only  of  some  is  disproved  by  the  offer 
of  the  Gospel  to  all  men :  "  God  so  loved  the  worlds 
that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  con- 
demn the  world,  but  that  the  world  through  him  might 
be  saved.  .  .  .  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath 
everlasting  life ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son 
shall  not  see  life  ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on 
him." 

So  the  sanctifying  or  illuminating  and  strengthening 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  radical  in  every  one  that  is 
saved.  He  renews  us  by  a  fresh  begetting,  a  re-crea- 
tion, a  resurrection  from  the  dead ;  and  no  man,  "  ex- 
cept he  be  born  again  "  "  of  the  Spirit,"  "  can  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God."  So  we  see  that  "  there  is  no 
difference,  for  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God."  "  The  carnal  mind  (i.  e.  the  mind  of 
man  in  his  natural  state)  is  enmity  against  God  ;  "  and 
since,  as  we  have  seen,  love  to  our  neighbor  proceeds 
from  our  love  to  God,  man  is  by  nature  at  enmity  with 
his  neighbor. 

This  enmity  against  God  and  our  neighbor  may  not 
at  once  be  utter  and  extreme,  for  living,  as  we  do, 
under  a  remedial  system,  the  restraining  grace  of  God 
is  round  even  the  unregenerate ;  but  we  are  prone  to 
it,  and  were  the  grace  of  God  entirely  taken  from  us, 


46  THE  KNOWLEDGE   OF  OUR  MISERY.         [Lect.  U. 

as  it  will  be  from  the  lost  in  liell,  there  is  no  depth  of 
depravity  to  Avhich  we  should  not  sink.  Our  enmity 
against  God  may  not  appear  against  his  goodness,  or 
his  mercy,  or  his  love ;  but  it  is  naturally  strong  against 
what  is  equally  his  character  —  his  holiness  and  justice ; 
for  whenever  his  law^  or  his  pi'ovidence  clashes  with  our 
inclination,  it  is  rampant,  bitter,  and  obstinate.  So  are 
we  enemies  of  our  neighbor,  when  he  crosses  ovn*  sup- 
posed interest.  Whence  also  could  come  such  malicious 
crimes,  such  bloody  wars,  such  envious  calumnies,  as 
those  which  fill  the  earth  with  clamor  and  rapine  and 
cruelty !  Thus,  the  Apostle  describes  the  heathen 
who  had  departed  from  God  as  filled  with  evil, 
stained  by  the  most  hideous  pollutions,  "  covenant- 
breakers,  without  natural  affection,  implacable,  unmer- 
ciful." It  is  the  proneness,  not  of  the  individual,  here 
and  there,  but  of  human  nature,  of  the  race ;  for  every- 
where we  see  symptoms  of  this  depravity  ;  everywhere 
men  make  laws  to  guard  against  it ;  every  penal  stat- 
ute, every  gibbet,  every  prison,  every  lock  on  our 
doors,  testify  to  man's  belief  that  his  fellow-man  is 
prone  to  hate  God  and  his  neighbor.  Christianity,  or 
other  restraining  influences  of  God's  government,  may 
modify,  and  to  some  extent  hold  back  the  tendency,  but 
in  what  man  has  been  and  what  man  now  is,  when 
grace  is  not  exercising  some  control,  we  see  what  he 
would  be  were  he  left  alone. 

The  Christian's  experience  confirms  the  divine  dec- 
laration. Who  that  looks  upon  these  two  precepts  of 
God's  law  can  say  he  has  kept  them,  or  that  he  could 
keep  them  perfectly  ?  Who  of  us  can  love  God,  with 
all  his  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself?  The  be- 
liever knows  he  cannot :  he  knows  that  there  is  within 


Lect.  II.]  THE  KNOWLEDGE  OF   OUR  MISERY.  47 

him  a  tendency  downward,  which  none  but  God  can 
change ;  that  there  is  a  lack  in  him,  call  it  what  you 
will,  and  place  it  where  you  will,  which  nothing  but 
God's  grace  can  supply,  but  without  which  he  is  lost, 
—  powerless  to  do  good,  and  prone  to  all  evil.  It  is 
this  that  he  expects  through  Christ ;  this  he  asks  of  God 
by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  this  he  relies  upon  alone  for  eternal 
life. 

O  blessed  Gospel,  that  thus  meets  us  in  our  last  ex- 
tremity, turning  our  despair  into  joy  !  O  blessed  Law 
of  God,  whose  veiy  terrors  drive  us  to  welcome  Christ ! 
O  blessed  Bible,  which  thunders  on  the  one  page  from 
Sinai  the  curse  of  eternal  death,  and  on  the  next  shows 
us  Christ  on  the  cross  dying  in  our  stead ;  then  beyond 
it,  Christ  on  his  throne  beckoning  the  penitent  to  eternal 
life !  Glory  to  God  the  Lawgiver  !  Glory  to  God  the 
Redeemer !  Glory  to  God  the  Sanctifier !  Glory  to 
God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  our  Covenant  God, 
throughout  all  ages  !     Amen. 


LECTURE  III. 
THE  FALL  OF  MAN. 


VOL.  I.  4 


THIRD  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   FALL   OF   MAN. 

Quest.  VI.     Did  God,  then,  create  man  so  wicked  and  perverse  f 
Ans.    By  no  means;  but  God  created  man  good,  and  after  his  own  image, 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  that  he  might  rightly  know  God  his 
Creator,  heartily  love  him,  and  live  with  him  in  eternal  happiness  to 
glorify  and  praise  him. 
Quest.  VII.     Wlience,  then,  proceeds  this  depravity  of  human  nature  f 
Ans.  From  the  fall  and  disobedience  of  our  first  parents,  Adam  and  Eve,  in 
Paradise ;  hence  our  nature  is  become  so  corrupt  that  we  are  all  con- 
ceived and  born  in  sin. 
Quest.  VIII.    Are  we,  then,  so  corrupt  that  we  are  wholly  incapable  of  doing 

any  good,  and  inclining  to  all  evilf 
Ans.  Indeed  we  are ;  except  we  are  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

THE  lesson  of  to-day  sets  forth  a  doctrine  of  Chris- 
tianity at  which,  more  than  any  other,  infidels  and 
heretics  have  aimed  their  assaults;  and  no  wonder, 
since,  if  it  be  not  true,  our  whole  creed  is  without  con- 
sistency and  must  fall  to  the  ground  ;  but  the  purpose 
of  this  discourse  is  not  to  establish  or  defend  it  by  any 
argument  of  our  own.  The  Catechism  undertakes  no 
more  than  to  teach,  systematically  and  very  briefly,  what 
doctrines  God  himself  has  declared  throughout  the  Holy 
Scriptures;  and  the  Church,  when  commanding  her 
ministers  to  preach  upon  the  Catechism,  intends  no 
more  than  that  they  should  teach  only  what  the  Cat- 
echism teaches,  assisting  her  people  to  understand  it 
by  farther  explanations  conformable  with  the  Scriptures 
and  the  other  articles  of  evangelical  faith.  Our  duty, 
therefore,  is  to  bring  before  you  what  God  asserts  to  be 
true ;  if  after  that  there  be  any  questioning  as  to  how 


62  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  IIL 

these  things  can  be,  the  dispute  is  not  with  us  but  God, 
and  we  leave  the  objector  in  his  hands  who  needs  no 
help  from  our  logic. 

You  will  also  remember  that  on  the  point  before  us, 
has  turned  a  long,  extensive  controversy,  filling  many 
volumes  by  the  most  acute  pens  ;  and  that  it  is  not  pos- 
sible in  a  single  hour  even  to  touch  many  things,  which 
the  most  candid  hearer  might  wish  made  clear. 

The  section  for  the  Second  Lord's  Day  having  taught, 
that  we  are  "  prone  by  nature  to  hate  God  and  our 
neighbor,"  inquiry  is  supposed  to  arise  respecting  the 
origin  of  such  an  evil  tendency  : 

6th.  "  Did  God  o'eate  man  so  wicked  and  per- 
verse f "  which  being  denied,  and  contrary  facts  stat- 
ed, it  is  asked : 

7th.  "  Whence^  then,  proceeds  this  depravity/  of  human 
nature  f'' 

And  the  answer  gives  the  true  history  of  our  most 
mournful  ruin ;  Avhereupon  another  question  is  put  as 
to  the  degree  of  our  moral  decay : 

8th.  ^^Are  we,  then,  so  corrupt  that  we  are  wholly  hv- 
capable  of  doing  any  good,  and  inclined  to  all  wicked- 
ness ?  " 

The  reply  confirms  the  doctrine  already  asserted, 
pronouncing  our  condition,  if  left  to  ourselves,  utter- 
ly desperate  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  points  out  a  sure 
way  of  escape  through  the  gracious  power  of  tlie  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  Author  of  all  life. 

Thus  we  have  our  subject  and  the  order  of  handling  it : 

The  subject : 

The  origin  of  human  depravity. 

The  order : 

First:  It  is  not  from  our  Creator. 


Lect.  IK.]  THE  FALL   OF  MAN.  53 

Secondly:  It  is  from  the  sin  of  our  first  parents. 

We  need  not  treat  of  the  answer  to  the  last  question 
separately,  as  the  first  part  is  properly  included  by  our 
second  head,  and  the  latter  will  be  fully  discussed  un- 
der a  subsequent  division  of  the  Catechism. 

Before,  however,  we  enter  upon  the  explanation  sup- 
plied us  by  our  Church,  it  should  be  remarked,  that  the 
origin  of  evil  is  a  difficulty  not  peculiar  to  the  Christian 
creed.  The  actual  existence  of  evil,  physical  and  mor- 
al, is  a  fact  not  to  be  denied.  Death,  with  all  its  pain- 
ful precedents,  is  upon  all  men.  Crime  or  wrong-doing, 
by  which  we  mean  violation  of  laws  regulating  our  own 
and  the  common  happiness,  is  seen  everywhere,  among 
all  nations,  in  all  circumstances.  There  are  degrees  of 
wrong-doing,  and  there  may  be  exceptions  as  to  partic- 
ular kinds  of  wrong-doing,  still  a  tendency  to  do  wrong 
is  as  much,  or  as  really,  a  characteristic  of  human  na- 
ture as  liability  to  death.  Every  civilized  community, 
and,  though  less  formally,  savage  tribe  ordain  statutes 
for  the  punishment  of  murder,  theft,  adultery,  not  be- 
cause this  or  the  other  individual  is  particularly  suspect- 
ed of  a  purpose  to  commit  any  of  those  crimes  (which, 
at  the  moment,  may  or  may  not  be  the  case),  but  be- 
cause the  nature  common  to  all  men  makes  the  com- 
mission of  such  grievous  wrong  so  probable  that  severe 
restrictions,  Avith  penalties,  are  necessary  to  prevent 
what  all  agree  would  be  evil ;  nor  are  any  of  us  affront- 
ed at  being  put  under  a  government  of  the  kind.  Nay, 
from  our  own  consciousness  of  human  weakness,  we 
consent  to  laws  for  the  control  of  all.  Thus,  those  who 
reject  the  Bible  are  as  much  bound  as  we  are  to  ac- 
count for  this  fact  of  human  corruption,  which,  because 
it  is  universal,  cannot  have  been  fortuitous,  but  must 


54  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  IJI. 

come  from  a  source  involving  all  men.  Philosophers 
of  all  ages,  people,  and  sects,  have  sorely  felt  this 
difficvilty  at  the  very  outset  of  their  ethical  observa- 
tions ;  and  a  Christian  does  not  create,  but  obeys  the 
necessity,  when  he  seeks  in  the  Word  of  God  for  an 
answer  to  the  sad  question,  —  whence  originated  the 
depraved  tendency  of  our  world-wide  race  ?  Our  pres- 
ent duty,  therefore,  is  to  consider  that  answer  as  it  is 
brought  before  us  by  the  Catechism. 

First  :    Huynan  depravity  is  not  from  Crod. 

As  the  depravity  is  in  human  nature,  and  human 
nature  sprang  from  the  creating  will  of  God,  our  first 
thouo;ht  is :  Can  it  be  that  man  came  into  beino;  with 
such  an  evil  disposition  ?  or,  as  the  Catechism  has  it : 

"  Did  Cfod,  then,  create  man,  so  wicked  and  per- 
verse? " 

But  at  once  we  shrink  from  such  an  impious  sugges- 
tion with  horror,  which  revulsion  is  strengthened  by 
the  scriptural  account : 

"  By  no  means ;  but  God  created  man  good  and  after 
his  own  image  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness,  that 
he  might  rightly  know  God  his  Creator,  heartily  love 
him,  and  live  with  him  in  eternal  happiness  to  glorify 
and  praise  him." 

1.  A  positive  denial :  "  By  no  means.^^ 

There  can  be  no  thought  so  shocking  as  that  God  is 
in  any  way  the  author  of  evil,  which  he  would  be  if  he 
had  created  man  wicked  and  perverse ;  since,  then,  the 
inference  would  be  irresistible  that  the  will  of  God  is 
evil,  and  the  sovereign  rule  of  the  iiniverse  held  by  the 
hands  of  One  who  can  be  neither  wise,  nor  just,  nor  good. 
Where,  then,  could  his  moral  creatures  look  for  a  stand- 
ard of  right,  for  the  reward  of  virtue  or  the  punish- 


Lect.  III.]  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  55 

ment  of  vice  ?  Better  the  blankest  atheism  than  such 
a  belief,  —  better  the  wildest  chance  than  such  a  gov- 
ernment, —  by  whose  capricious  cruelty  all  the  elements 
of  happiness  and  misery  are  thrown  into  dark,  waning, 
destructive  confusion.  No!  It  cannot  be!  "By  no 
means  "  can  it  be !  Let  man's  wickedness  and  conse- 
quent misery  come  whence  they  may,  they  cannot  have 
come  from  the  creating  will  of  God.  "  Yea,  let  God 
be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar."  Some  may  ask  here, 
if  it  be  not  asserted  in  Scripture  that  God  made  men 
wicked,  where  the  Wisdom  says  (Prov.  xvi.  4),  "  The 
Lord  hath  made  all  things  for  himself;  yea,  even  the 
wicked  for  the  day  of  evil."  But  that  text  bears  no 
such  interpretation.  God,  who  made  all  things  for 
himself,  certainly  made  wicked  men,  yet  that  is  very 
different  from  making  men  wicked.  He  made  them, 
and  they  became  wicked ;  and  what  the  Wisdom  means, 
is  that  the  wickedness  of  men  does  not  put  them  beyond 
the  control  of  God,  neither  will  it  defraud  him  of  his 
glory ;  for  they  are  still  his  creatures,  therefore  in  his 
power ;  and  on  the  great  day  of  retribution  (a  most 
evil  day  to  them),  he  will  abundantly  display  the  glory 
of  his  justice  by  their  signal  punishment.  So  says  the 
Psalmist  (Ixxvi.  10),  "Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall 
praise  thee ;  the  remainder  of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain ; " 
i.  e.  God  in  the  wisdom  of  his  providence  will  overrule 
the  malignant  passions  of  men  to  the  praise  of  his  gov- 
ernment, and  suffer  them  to  go  no  farther.  The  same 
principle  is  woven  through  our  whole  subject. 

II.  The  contrary  account  in  Scripture. 

(1)  "  God  created  man  good  ;  (2)  and  after  his 
own  image  in  righteousness  and  t2*ue  holiness ;  (3)  that 
he  might  rightly  know  God  his   Creator,  heartily  love 


56  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  Ilf, 

him,  and  live  with  him  in  eternal  happiness,  to  glorify 
and  praise  him." 

Here  we  have  1.  The  creation  of  man  good.  2.  The 
form  of  his  goodness ;  after  the  image  of  God  in  right  - 
eousness  and  true  holiness.  3.  The  design  of  his  crea- 
tion after  the  divine  image ;  that  he  might  be  capable 
of  glorifying  God  by  an  eternal,  spiritual,  and  happy 
obedience. 

The  logical  order  of  the  thoughts  is  the  reverse  ol 
the  words. 

1.  The  design  of  God  in  creating  man  was,  that  he 
might  be  capable  of  glorifying  his  Creator  by  an  eter- 
nal, spiritual,  and  happy  obedience. 

The  English  translation  of  our  Catechism  is  not  well 
aone,  and  there  is  an  obscurity  in  the  last  phrase  of  the 
answer  now  before  us,  which  is  made  worse  by  defec- 
tive punctuation.  As  it  now  reads,  it  would  seem  that 
the  words,  "  to  glorify  and  praise  him,"  had  reference 
only  to  man's  "  living  with  God  in  eternal  happiness," 
while,  really,  they  relate  to  all  that  has  gone  before. 
A  comma  put  after  happiness,  will  greatly  help  to  clear 
the  sense ;  but  there  should  have  been  inserted  some 
such  phrase  as, —  "And  this  as  the  method"  "  to  glorify 
and  praise,"  or  "for  the  purpose  of  glorifying  and  prais- 
ing him." 

By  the  glori/  of  God  is  to  be  understood  the  mani- 
festation of  his  infinite  attributes  ;  and  he  is  glorified 
by  his  works,  when  they  show  proofs  of  his  attributes 
exerted  upon  them.  The  radiant  sun,  the  fruitful 
earth,  the  cunning  anatomy  of  plants  and  animals,  all 
that  is  discoverable  in  unconscious  nature,  glorify  God. 
Yet  it  is  necessary  to  such  glorification  of  God  that 
there  should  be  creatures  capable  of  perceiving  and 


Lect.  III.]  THE  FALL   OF  MAN.  57 

recognizing  the  glory  so  manifested.  Being  created  with 
these  spiritual  faculties,  they  exhibit  in  their  own  nature 
proofs  of  the  divine  glory  as  much  more  wonderful  than 
those  of  unconscious  nature,  as  conscious  spirit  is  more 
wonderful  than  mere  matter.  But  they  render  a  higher 
tribute  of  glorification,  when  they  give  their  adoring 
praise  before  kindred  intelligences  to  the  Author  of  all. 
The  glory  of  God  in  the  revelation  of  truth  to  his 
creatures,  whom  he  has  gifted  with  capacity  to  receive, 
is  unspeakably  more  noble  than  his  glory  in  his  works ; 
and  those  creatures  return  him  a  correspondent  glory 
when  they  acknowledge  his  truth  with  homage  for  his 
divine  wisdom  ;  but  the  highest  degree  of  glorification 
which  intelligent  creatures  can  yield,  or  God  can  re- 
ceive, is  their  perfect  happiness  derived  from  conform- 
ity to  his  will,  for  then  are  the  power,  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  holiness  of  God  most  fully  manifested. 

It  was  to  give  man  a  fitness  for  thus  glorifying  his 
Creator  that  God  made  him,  as  Scripture  everywhere 
testifies.  God  had  already,  according  to  many  scrip- 
tural intimations,  created  various  orders  of  intelligences  ; 
but,  so  far  as  we  know,  they  are  all  pure  spirits,  liv- 
ing, acting,  serving,  and  adoring,  only  in  spheres  of 
thought.  Man  alone  was  a  union  of  the  material  and 
spiritual.  Man  alone  was  intrusted  with  lordship  over 
material  things,  was  capable  of  deriving  happiness  from 
God  in  a  legitimate  use  of  them,  and  charged  with  the 
oflfice  of  glorifying  God  by  such  a  happy  obedience,  on 
a  theatre  where  mind  and  matter  are  united  and  coop- 
erative. In  him  the  things  of  heaven  and  earth  are 
brought  together.  In  him,  as  the  connecting  link,  the 
two  grand  divisions  of  the  Almighty's  works  are  met. 
It  is  true  that  this  is  seen  very  dimly  in  the  first  Adam  j 


58  THE  FALL   OF  MAN.  [Lect   IH. 

yet  wlien  we  know  of  the  woman  conceiving  from  the 
Holy  Ghost  the  Second  Adam,  and  see  Jesus,  our 
Brother,  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  the  demonstration 
is  complete. 

The  design  of  God  was  to  give  man  a  fitness  for  thus 
glorifying  him ;  but  the  divine  purpose  was  not  abso- 
lute that  man  should  so  glorify  him,  as  the  immediate 
sequel  shows,  though  the  ultimate  issues  of  redemption 
will  triumph  gloriously  over  the  ruins  of  the  fall.  The 
design  was  carried  out.  Man  did  receive  from  his 
Creator  entire  fitness  to  glorify  and  enjoy  him  ;  though, 
as  we  shall  see,  there  was  necessarily  in  that  very  fitness 
an  element  which  made  his  defection  possible.  "  God 
made  man  upright ;  but  they  have  sought  out  many 
inventions." 

2.  The  form  of  man's  moral  creation  was  "  after  the 
image  of  God  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness." 
"And  God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our 
likeness.  ...  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image ; 
in  the  image  of  God  created  he  him  ;  male  and  female 
created  he  them."  What  is  meant  by  the  image  of 
God  in  which  man  was  created?  The  parallel  and 
nearly  synonymous  term  "likeness,"  used  by  God  him- 
self, gives  us  the  key  to  the  explanation. 

Man  being  designed  to  reflect,  spiritually,  the  spirit- 
ual glory  of  God,  by  his  enjoyment  of  God  through  an 
intelligent  conformity  to  the  divine  will,  it  was  neces- 
saiy  that  he  should  have  a  correspondent  capacity,  and 
be,  so  far  as  a  finite  creature  may,  a  counterpart  of  his 
infinite  Creator.  This  could  not  be  properly  true  of 
his  body,  for  organized  matter  cannot  resemble  the 
spiritual  One,  "  whom  no  one  hath  seen  or  can  see ;  " 
and  the  language  of  the  text  cited  guards  us  against 


Lect.  III.J  the  fall   OF  MAN.  59 

such  a  mistake  :  "  In  the  image  of  God  created  he 
him,"  i.  e.  man  irrespective  of  bodily  distinctions,  as 
"  in  Christ  there  is  neither  male  nor  female ;  "  but 
when  those  corporeal  differences  are  spoken  of,  it  is 
simply  said,  "  Male  and  female  created  he  them  ; " 
no  mention  being  made  of  the  divine  image.  It 
must,  therefore,  relate  to  the  soul,  and  in  fact  proves 
that  man  has,  besides  his  body,  a  spirit,  because  he  is 
like  God  who  is  a  spirit,  and  he  "  must  worship  "  the 
spiritual  God  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

Man  is  a  creature  :  therefore,  all  that  he  is,  and  has, 
must  be  derived,  and,  for  the  same  reason,  finite  ;  God, 
the  origin  and  source  of  all,  must,  on  the  other  hand, 
be  infinite.  Still  there  will  be  a  correspondence  be- 
tween the  finite  receiver  and  the  infinite  imparter. 
The  happiness  of  the  spiritual  creature  must  come 
from  the  same  causes  as  the  spiritual  creature ;  and 
hence  there  must  be  a  spiritual  resemblance. 

Thus  this  image,  likeness,  or  counterpart  of  God  in 
man  may  be  seen  threefold. 

1.  In  understanding  :  all  knowledge  is  original  with 
God,  but  he  imparts  truth  to  man,  and  man  must 
have  understanding  as  the  capacity  to  receive  it. 
Hence  the  Catechism  gives  as  one  reason  why  man 
was  made  in  the  image  of  God,  —  "  that  he  might 
rightly  know  God  his  Creator." 

2.  In  affection :  by  which  we  mean  what  is  among 
us  commonly  understood  by  heart ;  that  is,  a  capacity 
of  being  so  affected  by  the  character  and  disposition  of 
those  to  whom  we  have  relations  that  we  return  them 
love,  or  the  reverse.  But  God  manifests  his  love  tow- 
ards us,  and  requires  our  love  in  return.  Hence, 
man  must  have  affections  correspondent  to  the  relations 


€0  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  III. 

which  he  has  with  God,  and  in  the  economy  of  God 
with  his  fellow-creatures.  So  the  Catechism  gives  as 
another  reason  why  man  was  made  in  the  image  of 
God,  "  tliat  he  might  .  .  .  love  his  Creator ;  "  and  the 
Apostle  John :  "  He  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in, 
God,  and  God  in  him." 

3.  In  will :  by  which  we  mean  a  power  of  choice,  or 
of  determining  our  actions,  within  our  sphere.  The 
will  of  God  is  supreme  over  all  things,  for  it  is  the  only 
source  whence  they  exist.  He  rules  over  unintelligent 
things  by  mere  force,  and  they,  being  unconscious, 
cannot  resist  or  obey.  But,  having  given  man  under- 
standing and  affections,  he  presented  to  his  understand- 
ino;,  —  and  throuo;h  his  understandino;  to  his  affections, 
—  arguments  or  motives  for  the  determination  of  his 
choice,  that  man  might  act  freely  according  to  his  own 
will ;  and  an  intelligent,  hearty  choice  of  that  which 
God  approves  is  the  service  which  the  Creator  required 
at  man's  hands.  Here,  then,  you  see  the  triple  like- 
ness of  the  creature,  man,  to  the  Creator,  God.  God 
understands,  man  understands  ;  God  loves,  man  loves  ; 
God  chooses,  man  chooses. 

But  there  must  have  been  somethino;  more  to  com- 
plete  the  correspondence  of  the  creature  to  his  Creator  I 
and  what  this  was  we  learn  from  the  description  which 
the  Apostle  gives  of  regenerated  man,  or  sinful  man  in 
whom  the  original  likeness  is  reimplanted  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  We  find  it  in  two  neai'ly  parallel  texts :  one, 
Ephes.  iv.  23,  24  :  "  And  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
your  mind  ;  and  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness ;  "  the  other  in  Coloss.  iii.  9,  10  :  "  Ye  have  put 
off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds  ;  and  have  put  on  the 


Lect.  III.l  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  61 

new  man,  which  is   renewed  in   knowledge  after  the 
image  of  him  that  created  him."     Here  we  see  that 
the  image  of  God  consists  in  knowledge,  righteousness, 
and  true  holiness.    In  knowledge,  that  is,  a  right  use  of 
the  understanding ;  in  righteousness,  that  is,  a  proper 
discharge  of  relative  duties,  to  which  love,  as  the  two 
great  commandments  teach,  is  necessary,  for  "  love  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law  "  ;  and  holiness,  which  is  con- 
formity of  will  to  the  will  of  God,  or  choosing  as  God 
chooses.    God,  being  unchangeably,  because  essentially, 
perfect,  never  makes  an  error  in  understanding ;  never 
fails  in  righteousnesss  toward  his  creatures;    never  is 
inconsistent  with  himself,  which  is  his  holiness.     Man, 
therefore,  when  he  had  the  divine  image,  was  sound  in 
understanding,  disposed  to  a  loving  discharge  of  all  his 
relative  duties,  and  conformed  willingly  to  the  will  of 
God.    But,  being  a  creature,  he  was  unlike  God,  neither 
infallible  nor  unchangeable  ;  and,  having  the  power  of 
choice,  he  might  choose  evil  or  good.     This  was  neces- 
sary to  his  original  constitution  as  a  moral  creature  ;  for 
else  his  conduct,  however  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
rule,  would  not  have  been  the  result  of  his  knowledge, 
his  love,  or  his  will.     You  could  not  predicate  of  him 
either  rio-ht  or  wrong  any  more  than   you  could  of  a 
brute,  a  plant,  or  a  stone.     Still,  though  he  had  this 
faculty  of  choice,  he  was  under  no  bias  to  wrong,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  received  from  his   Creator  with  his 
being  a  disposition  to  do  well.     Hence,  the  Catechism 
gives  a  third  reason  why  man  was  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  "  that  he  might  live  with  God  in  eternal  happi- 
ness," which  he  could  not  do  unless  he  chose  as  God 
chooses,  partaking  of  the  divine  blessedness  as  he  agreed 
with  the  divine  character,  which  is  the  reason  of  the 


62  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  in, 

divine  blessedness.  The  blessedness  so  acquired  would 
have  been  for  ever,  because  death  came  in  only  as 
"  the  wages  of  sin ;  "  and  the  soul  of  man  being  im- 
mortal would  have  lived  perpetually  with  God.  Nay, 
his  body  also  would  have  been  incorruptible,  and  the 
whole  man  happy  through  conformity  to  the  divine 
will.  But  of  this  we  need  not  now  speak  further,  as  it 
will  come  under  consideration  in  another  place. 

Thus,  God  created  man  good,  with  no  evil  in  him, 
or  disorder  tending  to  evil,  but  fitted  for  the  duties 
and  circumstances  which  should  be  assigned  him  ;  so 
that  in  no  sense  has  the  evil,  moral  and  physical,  which 
subsequently  came  upon  man  and  is  now  upon  all  his 
descendants,  been  the  fault  of  his  Creator. 

Secondly  :  Human  depravity  isfrovn  man  Jiimself. 

The  7th  Question  asks :  "  Whence,  then,  proceeds 
this  depravity  of  human  natm-e?"  If  man  was  not 
created  wicked  and  perverse,  how  became  he  so  ? 

The  Catechism  answers : 

"  From  the  fall  and  disobedience  of  our  first  parents, 
Adam  and  Eve,  in  Paradise  ;  hence  our  nature  is  become 
so  corrupt  that  we  are  conceived  and  born  in  sin." 

This  asserts :  the  cause  of  the  corruption  to  be  the 
sin  of  our  first  parents  ;  and :  the  manner  of  its  trans- 
mission to  be  our  conception  and  birth  in  sin  ;  which 
together  give  us  the  doctrine  held  by  the  Reformed 
Churches,  according  to  the  Word  of  God,  that  all  men 
are  involved  in  the  fatal  consequences  of  Adam's  sin. 

Or,  as  the  clear  language  of  the  Westminster  divines 
expresses  it :  "  They  sinned  with  him  and  fell  with  him 
in  his  first  transgression." 

The  word /a/?,  though  nowhere  it  has  such  reference 
in  Scripture,  is  commonly  used  by  believers  of  Christian 


Lect.  III.]  THE  FALL   OF  MAN.  63 

doctrine  to  signify  man's  loss  of  the  high  place  which  he 
had  when  originally  created.  This  was  brought  about 
by  the  disobedience  of  our  first  parents,  Adam  and 
Eve,  in  Paradise.  The  particular  act  of  disobedience 
on  which  such  fatal  consequences  ensued,  must,  there- 
fore, have  been  the  first  of  which  man  was  guilty,  be- 
cause before  that  he  was  blameless,  and  immediately 
after  it,  he  was  cast  out  of  Paradise.  It  is,  then,  for 
us  to  inquire  how  our  race  were  so  deplorably  con- 
cerned in  that  one  sin  of  our  first  parents  ?  This  we 
may  learn  from  a  collation  of  Scripture :  Gen.  ii.  15  : 
"  And  the  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into 
the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it.  And  the 
Lord  God  commanded  the  man,  saying :  Of  every 
tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat ; "  (mark, 
the  tree  of  life  was  among  those  not  forbidden  to  him ;) 
"  but  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou 
shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  for  in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof 
thou  shalt  surely  die."  Mark  here,  that  from  the 
nature  of  this  command  with  the  threatening,  there  is 
implied  a  covenant  by  which  God  promises  life  on  con- 
dition of  his  obedience,  since  death  could  come  only 
through  his  disobedience.  Chap.  iii.  1  .  .  .  "Now  the 
serpent  was  more  subtile  than  any  beast  of  the  field 
which  the  Lord  God  had  made."  (Other  Scriptures 
warrant  us  in  believing  that  the  devil  was  here  under 
the  form  of  the  subtle  reptile  :  "  That  old  serpent  called 
the  devil,"  Rev.  xii.  9.)  "  And  he  said  unto  the  woman  : 
Yea,  hath  God  said.  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the 
garden  ?  And  the  woman  said  unto  the  serpent :  We 
may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden  ;  but  of  the 
tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said. 
Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye 


64  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  IIL 

die."  (The  covenant  had  been  made  with  the  man 
before  the  woman  was  formed  ;  but  she  rightly  judged 
herself  involved  by  it,  as  making  with  man  the  human 
nature.)  "  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman,  Ye 
shall  not  surely  die ;  for  God  doth  know  that  in  the 
day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened, 
and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil.  And 
when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food, 
and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be 
desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof, 
and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  husband,  and  he 
did  eat.  And  the  eyes  of  them  both  were  opened, 
and  they  knew  that  they  were  naked  ;  and  they  sewed 
fig-leaves  together  and  made  themselves  aprons.  And 
they  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God  walking  in  the 
garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day  ;  and  Adam  and  his  wife 
hid  themselves  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God 
amono-st  the  trees  of  the  garden.  And  the  Lord  God 
called  unto  Adam,  and  said  unto  him,  Adam,  Where 
art  thou  ?  And  he  said,  I  heard  thy  voice  in  the  gar- 
den, and  I  was  afraid  because  I  was  naked,  and  I  hid 
myself.  And  He  said.  Who  told  thee  that  thou  wast 
naked?  Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree,  whereof  I  com- 
manded thee  that  thou  shouldest  not  eat?  And  the 
man  said  :  The  woman  whom  thou  gavest  to  be  with 
me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat.  And  the 
Lord  God  said  unto  the  woman.  What  is  this  that 
thou  hast  done  ?  And  the  woman  said.  The  serpent 
beffuiled  me  and  I  did  eat.  And  the  Lord  God  said 
unto  the  serpent,  Because  thou  hast  done  this,  thou  art 
cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the 
field  ;  upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou 
eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life :    and  I  will  put  enmity 


Lect.  III.]  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  66 

between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 
and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt 
bruise  his  heeh  Unto  the  woman  he  said,  I  will  great- 
ly multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception ;  in  sorrow 
thou  shalt  bring  forth  children ;  and  thy  desire  shall 
be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.  And 
unto  Adam  he  said.  Because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto 
the  voice  of  thy  wife,  and  hast  eaten  of  the  tree,  of 
which  I  commanded  thee,  saying.  Thou  shalt  not  eat 
of  it,  Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ;  in  sorrow 
shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life ;  thorns  and 
thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee,  and  thou  shalt  eat 
the  herb  of  the  field ;  in  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt 
thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return  unto  the  ground ;  for 
out  of  it  wast  thou  taken  ;  for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto 

dust  shalt  thou  return And   the  Lord  God 

said,  Behold,  tlie  man  is  become  as  one  of  us  to  know 
good  and  evil ;  and  now  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and 
take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat  and  live  for  ever ; 
therefore  the  Lord  God  sent  him  forth  from  the  gar- 
den of  Eden,  to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was 
taken.  So  he  drove  out  the  man.  And  he  placed  at 
the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  cherubims  and  a  flam- 
ing sword,  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way 
of  the  tree  of  life."  Gen.  v.  3.  "  And  Adam  .... 
begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image." 

Now  compare  with  this  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostle, 
when  opening  the  way  of  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ ; 
Rom.  V.  12 :  "  Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin  entered 
nito  the  world  and  death  by  sin ;  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.  .  v.  18.  Therefore 
as  by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men 
to  condemnation  ;  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one, 

VOL.   I.  5 


66  THE  FALL   OF  MAN.  [Lect.  in. 

the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification 
of  life."  So,  also,  1  Cor.  xv.  21.  ..."  For  since  by 
man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive."  45.  "  The  first  Adam  Avas 
made  a  living  soul ;  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quick- 
ening spirit." 

There  are  many  things  in  the  original  story  and  the 
apostolical  comments,  upon  which  it  might  not  be  un- 
profitable to  remark,  if  we  had  time  ;  but  since  we 
have  not,  we  shall  be  confined  to  the  inferences  im- 
mediately touching  our  subject.  Let  us,  however,  be 
on  our  guard  against  the  sceptical  notion  that  the  Mo- 
saic account  is  an  allegory  ;  for  it  is  in  no  way  so  dis- 
tinguished from  what  follows  or  from  what  goes  before. 
If  part  be  allegory,  the  whole  is  allegory  ;  the  account 
of  creation  is  allegory,  man  is  but  an  allegorical  being, 
and  all  human  beings,  you  and  I  and  the  rest  of  our 
race,  are  mere  figments  of  a  poetical  description.  The 
facts  of  the  curse  are  present  with  us  now,  —  the  creep- 
ing serpent,  the  ungenerous  earth  with  its  thorns  and 
thistles,  the  pains  of  childbirth,  the  necessity  of  toil, 
the  death  which  returns  us  all  to  the  dust.  The  whole 
reasoning  of  the  apostles  respecting  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion assumes  the  facts  given  by  Moses  to  be  actual  and 
not  figurative.  Nay,  if  the  first  Adam  fell  not,  there 
is  no  redemption  by  the  second,  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 
The  simple  means  by  which  the  obedience  of  our  first 
parents  Avas  tried,  so  far  from  being  puerile,  as  some 
profanely  think,  were  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
general  economy  of  God,  and  show  more  plainly  than 
more  complex  or  imposing  arrangements  could  have 
done  the  importance  of  the  principle  that  a  holy  safe- 


Lect.  III.] 


THE  FALL   OF  MAN.  67 


ty  lies  in  obedience  to  God.  Innocent  man  was  yet 
dependent  on  his  Maker  for  daily  food,  and  God  put 
the  test  there  that  it  might  be  most  obvious. 
From  the  whole,  then,  we  learn,  — 
a.  That  Adam  forfeited  by  sin  the  favor  of  God,  lost 
the  upright  likeness,  which  he  originally  had,  to  his  Cre- 
ator, and  came  under  condemnation  to  death,  being  driv- 
en out  of  the  garden  where  God  held  communion  with 
him,  and  shut  out  from  all  access  to  the  tree  of  life, 
the  fruit  of  which  was  the  means  of  immortality.  How 
a  pure  being  could  fall  into  sin,  we  have  not  philosophy 
enough  to  explain,  nor  has  the  Holy  Ghost  answered 
such  "curiosity.  He  had  the  faculty  of  choice,  from  the 
exercise  of  which  God  could  not  directly  restrain  him 
without  destroying  the  essence  of  his  moral  being. 
But  that  he  did  sin,  we  know  from  the  testimony  of 
God ;  and  that  the  punishment  of  sin  came  upon  him, 
we  know  by  experience. 

h.  When  he  fell,  he  fell  not  alone,  but  all  his  descend- 
ants fell  with  him,  as  the  Apostle  expressly  asserts :  "  In 
Adam  all  died."  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin."  When  the  covenant  was 
made  with  Adam,  it  was  made  with  human  nature,  for 
he  was  then  the  whole  of  human  nature,  and,  by  his 
progenitive  character,  the  head  and  representative  of  all 
the  human  nature  that  should  proceed  from  him.  Had 
he  remained  sinless,  no  doubt  his  posterity  would  have 
been  sinless  ;  but  he  fell,  and  his  posterity  fell  with  him. 
Had  he  retained  the  holiness  which  constituted  the  im- 
age of  God,  he  would  have  begotten  his  children  in  the 
image  of  God  ;  but  having  lost  that  image,  his  children 
were  begotten  and  conceived  in  his  own  image.  The 
natural  faculties  of  understanding,  affection,  and  choice, 


68  THE   FALL  OF  MAN.  [Lect.  Ill 

his  nature  retained,  but  greatly  shattered  and  under  a 
fatal  bias  to  sin ;  for,  though  one  may  be  free  to  fall 
from  a  precipitous  height,  he  is  not  free  to  regain  his 
lost  place.  His  moral  likeness  to  God  was  gone  from 
him  and  he  could  not  give  it  to  his  offspring.  Death 
moral,  death  natural,  death  as  the  result  of  sin,  death 
as  the  punishment  of  sin,  was  upon  him,  upon  his  very 
nature  ;  and,  therefore,  upon  all  who  derived  their  na- 
ture from  him.  Death  was  distinctly  threatened  as  the 
punishment  which  would  follow  Adam's  bi'each  of  the 
covenant,  and  that  death  involved  the  moral  being  of 
his  soul  as  well  as  the  decay  of  his  body.  "  The  wages 
of  sin  is  death  ;  "  and  the  consent  of  Evangelical  Scrip- 
ture declares  that  the  death  now  visible  is  but  the  faint 
yet  sure  foreshadowing  of  death  eternal,  which,  as  the 
favor  of  God  is  life,  must  be  the  wrath  of  God  on  body 
and  soul  forever.  Death  is  upon  us  all.  We  have  the 
evidences  of  it  in  our  frames.  We  are  of  a  mortal  race. 
Our  forefathers  are  dead.  We  too  must  die,  for  we 
have  derived  death  from  them  with  our  life.  As  we 
all  die  with  Adam,  we  must  all  be  condemned  with 
him,  and  are  corrupt  with  him.  The  evidences  of  our 
moral  depravity  are  as  plain  as  those  of  our  bodily 
death  ;  and  so  as  we  fell  in  Adam,  are  we  depraved 
with  liim.  "  We  ai'e,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  by  nature 
the  children  of  wrath  ;  "  and  again  :  "  The  Scripture 
hath  concluded  all  under  sin."  God  deliver  us  from 
the  death  eternal ! 

c.  Our  corruption  is  derived  from  Adam  through  our 
conception  and  birth  :  "  Behold,"  says  the  Psalmist, 
when  accounting  for  his  foul  transgressions,  "  I  was 
shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."     In  the  same  manner  that  we  have  our  descent 


Lect.  III.]  THE  FALL  OF  MAN.  69 

from  Adam,  we  have  our  fallen  evil  nature.  Whatever 
be  the  difficulties  which  lie  about  this  fact,  it  is  true. 
The  parental  relation  of  Adam  to  us  involves  us  with 
him.  Our  whole  nature,  in  some  proper  sense,  is  from 
him.  Our  sins  are  imitations  of  his ;  we  commit  wil- 
fully personal  sins,  but  behind  all  these  there  is  sin  in 
us  and  guilt  upon  us  ;  we  "  are  by  nature  the  children 
of  wrath,"  begotten  in  the  likeness  of  man  after  he  had 
lost  the  image  of  God.  So  certainly  as  we  are  his 
children,  are  we  sinners  prone  to  all  evil,  except  we  be 
regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Such,  my  dear  hearers,  is  our  sad  state  by  nature. 
Our  cavils  cannot  change  the  fact ;  but  the  grace  of 
God  can  change  our  condition  by  changing  our  nature. 
Let  us  cease  to  challenge  the  justice  of  God  in  con- 
demning us,  and  invoke  his  ever  ready  mercy  to  create 
in  us  clean  hearts  and  renew  right  spirits  within  vis. 

Let  us  seek  the  same  blessing  for  our  fellow-sinners, 
our  brothers  in  human  fallen  nature  ;  and  strive  by  all 
the  means  which  the  Gospel  offers  to  bring  them  under 
the  headship  of  Christ,  the  second  Adam ;  that,  as  in 
the  first  they  died,  so  in  him  they  may  all  be  made 
alive  by  his  quickening  Spirit  unto  eternal  holiness. 

Especially  do  you,  who  are  parents,  look  upon  those 
who  are,  through  you,  children  of  sin  because  your 
children  ;  and-  leave  no  method  untried  that  you  may 
be,  by  divine  help,  their  fathers  and  mothers  in  Christ, 
to  whom  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost  be  Glory. 
Amen. 


LECTURE  IV. 

PUNISHMENT   OF   SIN. 


FOURTH   LORD'S    DAY. 
PUNISHMENT    OF    SIN. 

Quest.  IX.  Doth  not  God,  then, do  injustice  to  man  by  requiring  from  him  in 

his  law  (hat  which  he  cannot  perform  f 
Ans.  Not  at  all;  for  God  made  man  capable  of  performing  it;  but  man,  by 

the  instigation  of  the  devil  and  his  own  wilful  disobedience,  deprived 

himself  and  all  his  posterity  of  those  divine  gifts. 
Quest.  X.    Will  God  suffer  such  disobedience  and  rebellion  to  go  unpunished  f 
Ans.  By  no  means;  but  is  terribly  displeased  with  our  original  as  well  as 

actual  sins;   and  will  punish  them  in  his  just  judgment,  temporally 

and  eternally,  as  he  hath  declared :  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  con- 

tinueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do 

them." 
Quest.  XI.  Is  not  God,  then,  also  merciful  ? 
Ans.  God  is  indeed  merciful,  but  also  just;  therefore  his  justice  requires 

that  sin,  which  is  committed  against  the  most  high  majesty  of  God, 

be  also  punished  with  extreme,  that  is,  everlasting  punishment,  both 

of  bod3'  and  soul. 

^HE  section  of  the  Catechism  for  the  Second  Lord's 
-^  Day  taught  us  the  utter  inabihty  of  man  to  keep 
the  law  of  God  ;  that  for  the  Third,  how  our  nature, 
which  God  created  good,  became  so  corrupt ;  and  the 
lesson  of  to-day,  declares  the  certain,  most  terrible  pun- 
ishment of  sin  by  the  wrath  of  God. 

An  inquiry  is  supposed,  whether  or  not  the  obliga- 
tion of  man  to  obey  the  commands  of  God  is  removed 
by  his  inability  : 

9th.  "  Doth  not  God,  then,  do  injustice  to  man  ly  re- 
quiring from  Mm  in  his  law  that  which  he  is  unable  to 
perform  ?  " 

This  being  denied  for  reasons  given,  farther  inquiry 


74  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

is  made  respecting  the  consequences  of  man's  wicked- 
ness : 

10 til.  "  Will  Grod  suffer  such  disobedience  aiid  rebel- 
lion to  go  unpunished  ?  " 

The  answer  to  which  is,  that  God  has  not  only  made 
known  his  holy  anger  with  us  because  of  our  innate 
depravity  and  overt  crimes,  but  has  pronounced  an 
awful  curse  upon  every  transgressor  of  his  law.  Nor 
will  the  compassion  of  God  mitigate  the  severity  of 
his  vengeance,  for  the  answer  to  question  the 

11th.  "  Is  not  Crod,  then,  also  merciful  ? "  reminds 
us  that  executive  justice  is  essential  to  divine  sover- 
eignty, and  that  no  one  attribute  of  God  can  oppose 
another. 

Thus  we  have  our  subject  and  its  order  :  — 

The  subject : 

The  Punishment  of  Sin. 

The  order : 

First  :   The  accountability/  of  fallen  man. 

Secondly  :   The  sentence  passed  upon  him. 

Thirdly  :   The  certainty/  of  its  execution. 

First  :   The  accountability  of  falle7i  man. 

The  original  obligation  of  man  to  obey  God,  with  his 
consequent  responsibility  for  his  actions,  was  shown  on 
the  Second  Lord's  Day,  and  springs  necessarily  from 
the  relation  of  the  moi'al  creature  to  his  Creator.  The 
difficulty  before  us  is,  how,  since  man  has  lost  his  ability 
to  keep  the  law,  he  can  be  held  liable  to  punishment  for 
not  keeping  it ;  and  whether  it  is  or  is  not  charging  God 
with  injustice  to  assert  that  he  so  holds  him.  The 
Catechism  answers  : 

"  Not  at  all,  for  God  made  man  capable  of  perform- 
ing it ;  but  man,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  and 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF   SIN.  75 

his  own  wilful  disobedience,  deprived  himself  and  his 
posterity  of  those  divine  gifts." 

The  truth  of  the  principle  that  ability  must  precede 
obligation  is  admitted,  but  its  applicableness  to  the  case 
of  fallen  man  is  denied  ;  and  the  argument  takes  the 
form  of  a  syllogism,  thus :  God  made  man  able  to  keep 
the  law  given  him  ;  But  man  by  his  own  wilful  act  de- 
prived himself  and  his  race  of  that  ability  ;  Therefore, 
the  law  with  its  penalties  is  justly  binding  upon  us. 
The  first  was  shown  in  answer  to  the  fifth  question  ; 
the  second  in  answer  to  the  sixth  ;  the  third,  though 
following  irresistibly,  we  may  briefly  discuss. 

The  law  with  its  penalties  is  justly  binding  upon 
us,  notwithstanding  our  inability  to  perform  its  re- 
quisitions. 

1.  God  has  declared  it  to  be  so  in  both  his  word  and 
providence.  In  his  word,  he  makes  the  law  the  rule 
of  our  duty,  as  :  in  the  promulgation  of  its  two  tables 
on  Sinai,  and  the  confirmation  of  it  by  our  Lord  in  the 
two  requirements  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  our  neigh- 
bor ;  while  he  pronounces  us  utterly  unable  to  keep  it, 
and  describes  us  as  "  without  strength,"  "  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,"  needing  a  new  life,  a  new  nature,  and 
the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ  before  we  can  be 
saved,  because  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall 
be  justified ; "  at  the  same  time  forewarning  us  of  the 
judgment  when  he  will  render  unto  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  deeds,  and  denouncing  the  fearful  curse,  which 
is  no  less  than  the  wrath  of  God  forever,  against  "every 
one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  If  God  condemns 
us  for  not  keeping  the  law,  which  he  himself  says  we 
are  unable  to   keep,  who  will   dare  deny  his  justice? 


76  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

Shall  we  set  up  our  opinion  against  his,  who,  while  he 
pronounces  us  guilty,  "  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  ?  "  Surely, 
one  so  merciful  cannot  be  unjust. 

His  providence  agrees  with  his  word,  for  death  is  the 
penalty  of  the  law,  and  "  death  hath  passed  upon  all 
men,"  which  is  clear  proof  "  that  all  have  sinned." 
The  full  infliction  of  the  penalty  is  reserved  for  the 
next  world,  yet  here  we  see  that  mainly  the  happiness 
or  unhappiness  of  men  springs  from  their  conformity 
to  the  law  of  God  or  their  transgression  of  it ;  so  much 
so,  that  those  governments  which  copy  most  nearly  their 
laws  from  the  divine,  offer  the  best  security  for  the  com- 
mon good  ;  and,  that  those  nations  which  violate  the 
rules  of  righteousness  and  purity  divinely  laid  down 
are  sure,  if  not  at  once,  in  succeeding  generations  to 
bring  disaster  and  ruin  on  themselves ;  showing,  beyond 
a  doubt,  that  the  law  with  its  penalties  originally  im- 
posed on  man  is  still  the  law  of  his  nature  under  which 
his  Creator  holds  him.  Nor,  as  has  been  intimated  by 
these  examples,  are  those  penalties  of  sin  always  sent 
only  upon  the  actual  transgressor :  posterity  suffers 
from  the  crimes  of  their  ancestors ;  children  through 
many  generations,  often  until  families  become  extinct, 
inherit  disease  and  weaknesses  of  both  mind  and  body 
through  the  vices  of  their  forefathers  ;  while  a  very 
large  majority  of  deaths,  with  the  ordinary  accompa- 
niments of  pain  and  distress,  is  of  children  too  young 
to  have  contracted  guilt  by  their  own  voluntary  sin. 
How  can  we  account  for  these  facts  (which  no  one 
can  deny)  otherwise  than  by  the  theory  of  the  Scrip- 
.Tires,  that  the  primeval  law  is  still  dominant  over  us ; 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  i  < 

that  the  con'uption  of  man  is  derived  with  his  nature  ; 
and  that  all  his  race,  in  consequence  of  Adam's  sin,  are 
held  o-uilty  (that  is,  obnoxious  to  the  penalties  of  the 
divine  law)  before  God. 

2.  The  law  under  which  man  was  created,  with  its 
penalties,  is  unchangeable.     God  adapted  it  to  his  na 
ture   and   his  nature  to   it.      It  is, the  result,  as  has 
before  been  said,  of  his  relations,  moral  and  physical, 
to  his  Creator,  and  to  the  system  of  things  in  which 
the  Creator  has  placed  him.     Unless  all  the  laws  of 
this  world,  as  created  by  God  (which  we  must  believe 
are  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the  universe,  because 
the  Legislator  is  one  and  the  same),  be  changed,  the 
particular  law,  under  which  man  was  at  the  first  sub- 
ject, must  remain  unaltered.      We  distinguish  some- 
times, for  the  sake  of  argument,  between  the  natural  and 
the  penal  consequences  of  sin  ;  between  the  mischief 
which  sin  brings  about  in  the  condition  of  the  sinner, 
and  the  miseries  which  the  wrath  of  God  inflicts  on 
him    because  he  is   a  sinner ;    but   the   distinction   is 
nominal,  and  has  no  warrant  from  fact.     The  Creator 
is  the   Lawgiver,  and   he,  who    is    both  Creator  and 
Lawgiver,  is  the  only  Judge.     He  would  allow  no  hurt 
to  reach  the  innocent,  and  has  arranged  all  things  for 
the  happiness  of  the  obedient ;  consequently,  whatever 
evil  comes  upon  any  moral  creature  must  come  from 
the  wrath  of  God  and  is  a  punishment  of  guilt.     The 
skeptic,  making  out  of  his  own  purblind  fancy  a  law 
according  to  which  he  would  fashion  the  righteousness 
of  the  infinite  Creator,  may  presumptuously  deny  that 
our  good  God  can  be  so  severe  as  to  send  misery  on 
the  whole  race  of  man  through  Adam  ;  but  the  denial 
is  in  the  teeth  of  fact.      Misery  has  come  upon   the 


78  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

whole  race  ;  depravity,  physical  and  moral,  has  been 
and  is  characteristic  of  every  individual  who  has  a 
human  nature.  Whence  came  that  misery,  if  not 
from  the  Creator  ?  and  why  from  the  Creator,  if  it 
be  not  the  punishment  of  sin  ?  If  the  fact  of  hu- 
man misery  were  not  obvious,  we  might  tolerate  for 
a  moment  the  hypothesis  of  the  objector  ;  but,  when 
we  see  and  feel  a  fate  so  universal,  we  cannot  doubt 
that  it  is  from  God,  and  when  we  know  that  it  is  from 
God,  we  cannot  doubt  that  it  is  just. 

Besides,  when  the  law  was  ordered  and  given  as  both 
the  rule  of  man's  duty  and  the  method  of  his  happi- 
ness, he  was  able  to  keep  it ;  since  he  has  so  lost  his 
ability  that  (^in  the  language  of  Scripture)  he  "  cannot 
please  God  ;  "  must  then  God  lower  the  demands  of 
liis  law  and  accommodate  it  to  our  fallen  nature  ?  No 
one  can  soberly  contend  for  that.  Should  a  law  pun- 
ishing murder  restrain  its  operation  against  the  wretch 
who  has  become  so  malignant  and  brutal  that  he  can- 
not  keep  from  shedding  blood  for  revenge  or  rapine  ? 
Or  should  the  poisonous  effects  of  strong  drink  cease 
ill  the  constitution  of  the  drunkard,  because  he  cannot 
resist  the  terrible  thirst  which  he  has  wickedly  ac- 
quired ?  Upon  such  a  principle,  the  worse  a  man  is, 
tlie  less  pure  and  exacting  the  law  over  him  should 
be.  It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  law,  but  of  the  sinner, 
that  he  comes  under  its  penalties,  which  are  intended, 
not  to  make  man  miserable,  but  to  deter  him  from  sin, 
which  will  certainly  make  him  miserable. 

3.  The  inability  of  man  to  keep  the  law  of  God, 
which  we  derive  through  our  descent  from  Adam,  is 
not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  free  us  from  blameworthi- 
ness.    There  may  have  been,  there  probably  has  been, 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  79 

all  alono-  with  our  reasoning,  an  objection  in  tlie  minds 
of  some,  that   the  absence  of  power  to  obey  renders 
obedience  on  our  part  impossible,  which  seems  to  go  far 
towards  relieving  us  from  guilt.     But  let  us  consider 
more  closely  the  nature  of  this  inability,  and  where  it 
lies.     It  is," doubtless,  a  moral  inability,  for  it  respects 
moral   acts ;     and  as    morality   (or  right   and  wrong) 
belongs  to  the  will,  the  inability  must  lie  in  the  will. 
Mark,  —  in  asserting  that  our  inability  is  of  the  will, 
we    are   far   from    asserting,   as    some   with   more   art 
than  correctness   have  done,  that  we  have  a  natural 
ability  to  keep  the  law  of  God.     To  speak  of  a  natural 
ability  to  do  a  moral  act,  is  a  confusion  of  terms  utterly 
unjustifiable,  and  can  lead  to  no  sound  result.      The 
exercise  of  what  are  termed  our  natural  faculties,  (not 
those  of  our  bodies  but  of  our  souls,)  such  as  the  fac- 
ulty of  understanding  or  loving,  have  a  moral  char- 
acter only,  because  of  the  exercise  of  the  will  through 
them.     Morality  is,  we  know,  inseparable  from  the  ex- 
ercise of  those,  so  called,  natural  faculties,  because  the 
exercise  of  them  is  always  by  the  will ;  but,  for  the 
same  reason,  their  moral  character  is  derived  from  the 
will.     To  know  God  is  our  duty,  yet  could  not  be  our 
duty  if  we  were  without   the  faculty  of  knowing ;  to 
love  God  is  our  duty,  yet  could  not  be  if  we  had  not 
the  faculty  of  loving  ;'  but  as  both  our  understanding 
and  our  heart  are  exercised  by  our  will,  there  can  prop- 
erly be  no  ability  to  do  what  is  moral  where  the  wdl 
is  not  concerned  and  engaged.     To  deny  the   moral 
ability  to  do  right  (by  which  is  understood  ability  of 
will)  is  to  deny  all  ability  to  do  right.     At  the  same 
time,  it  must  be  seen  that  there  is  a  reflex  action  of  the 
understanding  and  affections  upon  the  will,  biasmg  it, 


80  PUNISHMENT  OF   SIN.  [Lect.  IV 

and,  where  it  is  weak,  controlling  it,  because  the  will 
itself  is  determined  (so  far  as  we  can  discover  the  laws 
of  its  mystery)  by  the  motives  presented  to  it.  This, 
however,  strengthens  the  objection  to  the  claim  of  nat- 
ural ability  to  serve  God,  because  both  Scripture  and 
experience  teach  us  that  the  understanding  is  darkened 
and  weakened  by  sin,  while  our  affections  have  from 
the  same  fatal  cause  acquired  a  proneness  to  evil,  thus 
influencina;  the  will  to  wrong  as  well  as  being;  directed 
by  it.  In  fact,  our  whole  spiritual  being  is  disorganized 
from  its  proper  balance  and  adjustment,  needing  an  en- 
tire renovation  as  a  whole,  and  in  each  part.  So  the 
Apostle  declares  that  God  worketh  in  the  believer  "  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure  ; "  his  under- 
standing must  be  enlightened  and  his  heart  changed. 
This  corruption  of  his  so-called  natural  powers  does 
not  free  the  sinner  from  guilt,  because  he  has  himself 
corrupted  them  wilfully.  Had  God  created  man  with- 
out eyes,  he  surely  would  not  have  required  from  him 
an  admiring  study  of  visible  creation  ;  .  but  if  man, 
after  having  received  sight,  had  wilfully  deprived  him- 
self of  his  eyes,  he  would  not  by  so  criminal  an  act 
have  escaped  from  his  duty,  because  his  acquired  ina- 
bility would  have  been  a  sin  involving  all  the  conse- 
quent omissions  ;  just  as  human  law  holds  a  drunken 
man  responsible  for  all  the  wrong  he  does  while  in  a 
state  of  self-assumed  craziness.  God  gave  man  a  sound 
reason  and  unpolluted  affections  ;  but  he  depraved  those 
faculties  wilfully,  and  is  justly  responsible  for  the  conse- 
quences of  that  depravity. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  much  of  the  difficulty  thrown 
around  this  subject  arises  from  the  insufficiency  of  our 
human  language  to  state  clearly  what  concerns  spiritual 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT  OF   SIN.  81 

or  moral  things.  Power,  strength,  ability,  are  terms 
primarily  expressive  of  physical  faculty;  and  cannot 
apply  with  parallel  force,  or  corresponding  sense,  to 
the  will  of  the  spiritual  soul.  When  the  will  is  ex- 
ercised, there  is  choice  ;  and  when  we  say  that  man 
cannot,  before  he  is  regenerate,  choose  the  service  of 
God,  we  do  not  mean  that  he  is  compelled  to  evil 
by  a  force  without  himself,  as  a  stream  runs  down- 
ward or  a  flame  points  upward ;  but  that  he  is  so 
wicked  by  nature  that  his  choice  is  inevitably  fixed  on 
what  is  wrong.  He  cannot  do  right,  because  he  is  so 
bent  on  doing  wrong.  Can  any  of  us  say  that  he  is 
forced  to  sin  whether  he  will  or  not  ?  Can  he  say  that 
his  bondage  to  sin  does  not  include  his  will,  or  that, 
when  he  sins,  he  is  not  a  voluntary  agent  ?  There  is 
no  reasoning  on  this  ;  we  know  it,  in  the  same  w-ay  that 
we  know  we  exist,  from  our  consciousness.  If,  then, 
we  sin  of  our  own  accord,  can  we  be  iimocent  ?  Nay, 
if  we  are  without  a  disposition  to  obey  God,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  our  guilt.  It  is  the  want  of  a  heart  to 
serve  him  for  which  God  condemns  us.  The  inability 
spoken  of  by  the  word  of  God  and  the  Catechism,  is 
nothing  else  than  that  depravity  of  our  nature  through 
sin  by  which  our  heart  is  alienated  from  God,  our  un- 
derstanding blinded,  and  our  very  conscience  perverted. 
Therefore,  (in  the  language  of  the  Episcopal  Church,) 
"  the  condition  of  man  after  the  fall,  is  such,  that  he 
cannot  turn  and  prepare  himself,  by  his  own  natural 
strength  and  good  works,  unto  faith  and  calling  of 
God." 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  Apostle  speaks  of  "  doing 
the  thing  he  would  not,"  and  our  Church  in  the  Com- 
munion service,  of  "  sin  reniainino-  against  our  will  in 

VOL.    I.  G 


82  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

US  ; "  but  in  those  passages  we  must  understand 
"  would  "  and  "  will  "  to  mean  the  general  purpose 
and  desire  of  a  believer,  which  is  for  the  consecration 
of  his  whole  being  to  God. 

4.  The  method  of  God  in  salvation  justifies  his  con- 
demnation of  us  under  Adam  ;  for  Christ  takes  the 
place  of  a  second  Adam,, and  holds  the  same  federal 
relation  to  the  elect,  whom  he  represents,  as  the  first 
Adam  did  to  his  natural  posterity.  In  him  the  be- 
liever is  justified,  as  in  the  first  man  he  was  condemn- 
ed ;  by  the  righteousness  and  expiation  of  Christ  in 
his  stead,  he  is  pardoned,  accepted,  and  rewarded  ; 
the  blessing  comes  on  Christ  the  Head  first,  then  on 
every  member  of  the  Church  which  is  his  body  ;  and 
the  strength  enabling:  him  to  do  right  is  not  his  own, 
but  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
dwelling  in  him.  It  is  only  through  such  representa- 
tion or  suretyship  of  Christ  that  he  can  be  saved  from 
either  the  guilt  or  the  power  of  sin,  as  the  Apostle  says : 
"  For,  if  by  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one, 
much  more  they,  which  receive  abundance  of  grace 
and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  shall  reign  in  life  by 
one,  Jesus  Christ." 

To  deny  the  justice  of  representation  as  a  principle 
on  which  God  may  deal  with  us,  is  to  take  away  all 
hope  of  our  salvation.  Indeed,  when  handling  the 
.  subject  of  the  fall,  we  should  have  constant  refer- 
ence to  the  condition  of  sinners  under  the  Gospel, 
as  a  remedial  system,  for  such  is  our  condition ;  and, 
therefore,  every  other  method  of  considering  it  would 
be  more  curious  than  practical  ;  since  God  leaves  us 
who  hear  the  Gospel  not  irrecoverably  lost  through 
Adam,  but  with  the  gracious  opportunity  of  restora- 
tion through  Christ. 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  83 

In  conclusion,  let  every  believer  ask  himself  if  he 
does  not  feel  that  of  his  own  nature  he  is  utterly  un- 
able to  obey  God,  yet  that  he  is  guilty  for  not  obeying 
him  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  that  "  it  is  God  who  work- 
eth  in  him  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure?  " 
Such  conviction  of  Christian  experience  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Catechism. 

Secondly  :  The  sentence  passed  upon  fallen,  sinful 
man. 

Our  guilt,  because  of  our  sins,  having  been  demon- 
strated, the  question  recurs  :  Shall  tve  he  suffered  to 
go  unpunished  hy  the  good  God,  whom  we  have  re- 
belled against  f  And  the  Catechism  answers  :  "  By 
no  means  ;  but  (he)  is  terribly  displeased  with  our 
original  as  well  as  actual  sins  ;  and  will  punish  them 
in  his  just  judgment,  temporally  and  eternally,  as  he 
hath  declared  :  '  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth 
not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the 
law  to  do  them.'  " 

From  the  line  of  argument  which  we  have  chosen, 
much,  which  otherwise  should  come  under  this  head, 
has  been  anticipated,  yet  several  important  things  are 
yet  to  be  noted  :  The  terms  of  the  condemnation  ;  the 
reason  of  it ;  and  its  extent. 

1.  The  terms  of  the  condemnation  :  "  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which 
are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them." 
This  is  the  language  of  God  himself  as  given  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  out  of  the  older  Scripture.  Curse  is  the 
opposite  of  blessing  ;  both  imply  the  action  of  God, 
for  he  alone  can  curse,  and  he  alone  can  bless  ;  bless- 
ing is  the  happy  consequence  of  his  favor,  cursmg  is 
the  miserable  consequence  of  his  anger.      Sometimes 


84  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  L^^ect.  IV. 

these  opposite  terms  are  applied  to  unconscious  objects, 
as  :  "a  field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed,  which  for 
that  reason  is  fruitful;  or  "cursed  is  the  ground,"  which 
for  that  reason  brought  forth  thorns  and  thistles  ;  yet 
such  merely  material  things  are  not  themselves  prop- 
erly objects  of  divine  blessing  or  cursing,  but  only  the 
means  through  which  God  blesses  or  curses  man. 
Blessing  or  cursing  are  often  restricted  to  particular 
concerns  or  parts  of  men's  interests,  but  when  used 
generally,  or  without  specification,  they  comprehend 
the  whole  of  man's  being  and  experience  ;  and  are 
then  synonymous  with  life  and  death  in  their  full 
sense,  —  for  the  favor  of  God  is  life,  and  the  anger  of 
God  is  death.  Thus  Moses,  having  declared  the  law 
with  its  sanctions  of  reward  and  punishment,  says : 
"  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record  this  day  against 
you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing 
and  cursing  ;  therefore  choose  life,  that  both  thou  and 
thy  seed  may  live."  So  in  the  sentence  before  us, 
"  Every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things,  which 
are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  to  do  them,"  is 
denounced  as  "  cursed,"  that  is,  condemned  to  death, 
or  to  all  the  awful  effects  of  divine  wrath  ;  God  not 
only  withdrawing  from  him  his  favor,  but  also  pursuing 
him  with  his  vengeance.  How  extreme  must  be  the 
misery  of  one  whose  enemy  is  God  omnipotent ! 

The  sentence  is  passed :  "  Cursed  is  every  one  who 
continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  to  do  them."  God  has,  it  is  true,  "  appointed 
a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world,"  but  his  wrath 
does  not  linger  until  then  ;  for  the  day  of  judgment  is 
rather  the  time  of  the  public  final  award  to  the  right- 
eous of  life  eternal,  and  to  the  wicked  of  death  eternal, 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  85 

at  the  close  of  the  mediatorial  scheme.  Doubtless, 
there  will  then  be  a  great  increase  of  happiness  on  the 
one  hand,  and  of  misery  on  the  other,  because  the 
sentence  either  way  will  be  fully  carried  out,  the  inter- 
cession of  Christ  being  ended  ;  but  the  sentence  against 
the  sinner  is  already  passed,  and  partly  put  in  force  the 
moment  he  is  a  sinner  ;  nay,  the  only  reason  why  it  is 
not  executed  at  once  is  the  stay  of  divine  vengeance  to 
give  opportunity  of  salvation  through  the  Atoner.  So 
the  lanmiao-e  is  not  "  cursed  will  be  "  the  sinner,  but 
"  cursed  is  he."  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die,"  and  in  the  day  he  ate  he  did  die  ;  he 
lost  the  favor  of  God  which  is  life,  he  came  under  the 
anger  of  God  which  is  death  ;  death  in  his  body  which 
then  began  to  die ;  death  in  his  soul  which  then  became 
corrupt;  death  in  his  entire  humanity,  because  under 
condemnation  ;  death  upon  all  the  race  which  he  rep- 
resented :  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men  for 
that  all  have  sinned  ;  "  and  again  :  "  By  the  oifence 
of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation.'*^ 
How  dreadful  is  this  thouo;ht !  We  are  already  con-, 
demned  ;  and  unless  we  have  escaped  to  the  shelter  of 
Christ's  mediation,  the  unspeakable  weight  of  the  curse 
of  God  may  at  any  moment  crush  us  into  hell  forever  ; 
all  the  woes  we  suffer  now,  unless  they  have  been 
changed  to  fatherly  discipline  by  the  adopting  grace 
of  God  in  Christ,  are  but  faint  presaging  shadows  of 
our  eternal  doom. 

The  sentence  is  passed  upon  all  sinners  :  "  Cursed  is 
every  one,"  &c.  "  The  Scripture  hath  concluded  all 
under  sin,"  for  "  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not 
one."     "  Death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 


86  PUNISHMENT  OF   SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

have  sinned."  In  our  mortality  and  moral  corruption 
we  have  the  proof  of  both  our  sin  and  our  condemna- 
tion. We  cannot  escape  on  the  plea  that  we  have 
broken  only  one  or  a  few  of  the  divine  precepts  and 
kept  the  rest ;  even  if  this  were  possible,  the  sentence 
is  against  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  tldngs 
which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them  ;  " 
so  that  to  escape  the  curse  we  must  not  only  keep  all 
the  commandments,  but  keep  them  continually,  with- 
out exception  and  without  intermission.  But  it  is 
not  possible  ;  "  for,"  says  the  Apostle  James,  "  who- 
soever shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in 
one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.  For  he  that  said  do 
not  commit  adultery,  said  also,  do  not  kill.  Now  if 
thou  commit  no  adultery,  yet  if  thou  kill,  thou  art 
become  a  transgressor  of  the  law."  The  sin  lies  not 
merely  in  a  particular  offence,  or  in  the  breach  of 
one  particular  commandment ;  but  in  rebelling  against 
the  authority  of  him  who  ordained  the  whole  law, 
showing  plainly  that  the  sinner  is  not  restrained 
from  breaking  the  rest  by  the  reverence  he  has  for 
God,  but  only  through  temperament,  or  absence  of 
trial,  or  lack  of  opportunity.  He,  who  would  for 
sound  religious  reasons  keep  one  precept,  would  from 
the  same  conscientious  motive  abstain  from  breaking 
all  the  rest.  Therefore  is  the  sinner  condemned  for 
having  rebelled  against  the  majesty  of  the  Lawgiver. 
Who,  then,  my  hearers,  can  stand  ?  Who  among  us 
has  always  and  at  all  times  made  the  law  of  God,  be- 
cause it  is  God's  law,  the  rule  of  his  conduct  ?  Who 
of  us  can  abide  the  scrutiny,  when  God  searches  our 
inmost  hearts  ? 

2.    The  reason  of  the  condemnation. 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  87 

God  is  terribly  displeased  with  our  original  as  well 
as  actual  sins. 

The  word  God  is  not  only  the  distinguishing  name 
of  the  infinite  Being,  but  also  a  title  of  his  supreme 
office.  We  cannot  use  it  rightly  without  understand- 
ing by  it  the  Moral  Governor,  as  well  as  the  Creator 
of  the  Universe.  As  belief  in  an  all-wise  First  Cause 
throws  chance  entirely  out  of  the  physical  system, 
bringing  all  things  under  law ;  so  it  is  impossible  that 
the  Sovereign  can  be  indifferent  to  the  character  and 
acts  of  his  moral  subjects.  The  freedom  of  their 
agency  does  not  put  them  beyond  his  authority,  else 
they  would  become  more  than  creatures  and  he  less 
than  supreme.  They,  therefore,  must  be  under  law, 
and  their  happiness  or  misery  be  in  proportion  to  their 
conformity  or  lack  of  conformity  with  the  divine  law ; 
so  that,  giving  to  their  freedom  its  widest  definition,  it 
can  be  nothing  more  than  freedom  to  work  out  their 
happiness  or  misery  under  the  law  of  the  Creator. 
But  the  law,  under  which  they  act,  must  spring  from 
the  very  nature  of  God,  and,  as  he  is  essentially  holy, 
whatever  in  the  moral  creature  is  contrary  to  the 
divine  holiness,  must  bring  upon  him  the  hostility  of 
the  divine  power. 

Again :  Avhatever  definition  may  be  given  to  right, 
the  rule  of  right  for  the  moral  creature  can  be  no  other 
than  the  expressed  will  of  his  divine  Lord ;  he  has,  as 
a  subject,  reason  to  look  for  such  a  declaration  of  the 
divine  will  respecting  his  acts,  (since  "  sin  is  not  im- 
puted where  there  is  no  law,")  and  God  has  revealed 
that  law  clearly  to  us  ;  a  transgression  of  the  revealed 
law  is,  therefore,  a  rebellion  against  our  rightful  Sov- 
ereign, and  the   transgressor  must  be  dealt  with  as  a 


88  PUNISHMENT  OF  SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

traitor.  Yet  again :  no  man  is  alone  in  the  world,  nor 
do  his  actions  affect  only  his  own  well  being,  but  he 
belongs  to  a  vast  community  of  human  beings,  moral 
creatures  like  himself,  so  interlinked  that  their  actions 
"necessarily  bear  upon  each  other  and  upon  their  pos- 
terity ;.  God  is  the  Governor  and  Defender  of  the  whole 
as  !ie  is  of  each,  and  therefore  any  breach  of  the  law 
given  to  conserve  the  happiness  of  all,  must  be  regarded 
by  him  as  a  grievous  offence  against  him,  because 
against  the  peace  of  those  under  his  care. 

Once  more  :  all  his  intelligent  creatures  have  a 
right  to  ask  from  God  his  estimate  of  right  or  wrong, 
the  degree  in  which  the  one  is  meritorious,  the  other 
damnable ;  nor  can  they  learn  this  except  from  the 
reward  he  attaches  to  obedience  and  the  penalties  he 
denounces  against  disobedience.  Were  he  to  overlook 
his  creatures'  good  or  evil,  were  he  to  reward  lightlj^  or 
punish  lightly,  even  in  a  single  case,  the  consistency  of 
his  administration  would  be  shaken,  and  doubt  as  to 
the  very  principles  of  truth  or  happiness  would  darken 
over  the  universe.  The  dreadfuhiess  of  the  curse 
against  sin  is  the  expression  of  the  sense  he  has  of  its 
enormity,  and  meant  to  deter  his  subjects  from  it ;  but 
when  any  will,  notwithstanding,  transgress,  the  penalty 
they  defy  must  take  its  course.  Thus  we  see  that  God 
is  terribly  displeased  with  sin  from  the  holiness  of  his 
nature,  from  jealous  vindication  of  his  authority,  from 
his  regard  for  the  happiness  of  his  subjects,  and  from 
his  design  to  teach  his  moral  universe  the  only  way  of 
life. 

Sin,  therefore,  in  any  form  that  may  be  chargeable 
on  us,  must  excite  his  severe  displeasure  ;  our  actual 
sins  not  only,  but,  also,  our  sin  in  which  we  are  born ; 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF   SIN.  89 

for,  if  the  overt  act  be  a  trangression  of  his  law,  the 
disposition  or  tendency  to  transgression  which  is  in  our 
nature  must  be  offensive  to  him  as  the  root  or  fountain 
of  all  sin. 

As  to  our  actual  sins,  the  testimony  of  the  word  of 
God  is  so  clear,  that  none  of  them  will  escape  his  right- 
eous anger,  as  to  need  nothing  from  us,  especially  after 
our  previous  reasoning.  But  the  Catechism,  by  our 
innate  or  born  sins,  ("  original  "  as  the  English  trans- 
lator has  it,)  evidently  means  not  only  our  native  cor- 
ruption, but  also  the  sin  of  our  first  parent  in  whom 
we  fell.  This  we  shall  now  argue  no  farther  than  to 
say,  upon  the  testimony  of  afore-cited  Scripture,  and 
upon  the  proof  everywhere  seen  of  the  whole  race 
being  as  a  race  under  the  curse  pronounced  upon 
Adam,  that  God  holds  us  guilty  because  we  are  chil- 
dren of  Adam,  the  progenitor  of  us  all.  How  else,  we 
ask  again,  can  we  account  for  the  suffering  and  mor- 
tality of  babes  before  they  are  capable  of  actual  sin  ? 
Not  that  we  can  believe  in  the  damnation  of  infants,  as 
has  been  falsely  charged  on  those  who  hold  our  creed ; 
on  the  contrary,  only  we  can  consistently  hold  the  doc- 
trine of  their  salvation,  because  we  believe  that  they 
are  saved  through  the  merit  of  Him  who  has  said  : 
"  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Are  we  asked : 
What  would  have  been  their  fate,  if  the  redemption 
had  not  been  provided  ?  We  answer  that  of  such 
contingencies  we  have  no  knowledge,  and,  therefore, 
no  right  or  room  for  conjecture,  except  that  in  no  cir- 
cumstances God  would  do  unjustly.  Sufficient  is  it  for 
us  to  know  that  we  are  all  condemned,  all  under  the 
curse,  all  born  in  sin  ;  and  (thanks  be  unto  God  for  his 
unspeakable  gift !)  that  there  is  full  redemption  through 
Jesus  Christ  for  all  who  believe  on  his  name. 


90  PUNISHMENT  OF   SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

O  my  friends,  liow  terrible  must  be  the  displeasure 
of  God,  and  how  base  that  sin  which  clouds  with 
frowns  against  his  creatures  the  face  of  him,  whose 
names  are  Life  and  Light  and  Love ! 

3.  The  extent  of  the  condemnation. 

God  "will  punish  them  (our  sins)  in  his  just  judg- 
ment, temporally  and  eternally." 

The  penal  consequences  of  sin,  included  by  the  curse 
are  temporal  and  eternal,  on  (as  the  answer  to  the 
next  question  states)  both  body  and  soul." 

Man,  as  God  created  him,  consists  of  both  body  and 
soul.  His  soul,  having  a  life  peculiar  to  itself,  may 
exist  without  his  body,  and  will  so  exist  from  the  time 
of  his  so  called  death  until  the  Last  Day  ;  but  then 
it  is  not  the  entire  man  ;  neither  is  it  the  design  of  God 
that  the  soul  should  be  disembodied,  except  for  a  pass- 
ing purpose  ;  nor  can  the  soul  have  its  full  sensibility 
or  put  forth  its  full  energy  when  apart  from  the  body. 
God  contrived  the  body  with  its  faculties  to  be  the 
ilwellino;  and  instrument  of  the  soul  :  he  created  and 
fitted  the  soul  (unlike  angelic  spirit)  to  live  in  the 
body  and  act  through  it.  The  relations  of  body  and 
soul  are,  therefore,  most  intimate.  As  we  see  it  in  this 
life,  the  sympathy  of  each  with  the  other  is  close  and 
necessary.  Through  the  bodily  appetites,  the  soul 
maintains  or  impairs  its  natural  vigor ;  through  the 
bodily  senses,  it  perceives  and  derives  ideas  from  ex- 
ternal things  ;  through  the  bodily  faculties,  it  acts  out- 
wardly its  will  ;  through  the  passions,  which  belong 
both  to  it  and  the  body  in  combination,  it  enjoys  or 
suffers.  The  soul,  it  is  true,  has  faculties  and  affections 
peculiar  to  itself,  and  alone  has  will,  but  it  has  not  the 
complete  powers   intended  for  its   action  without  the 


Lect.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  91 

means  and  implements  supplied  by  the  body  ;  for  which 
reason  a  "  spiritual  body  "  (as  the  apostle  characterizes 
it)  as  well  as  a  sanctified  soul  is  necessary  to  the  entire 
felicity  of  man  in  heaven,  not  less  than  in  paradise  on 
earth ;  which  makes  the  clear-sighted  Paul,  even  while 
lamenting  the  impediments  of  a  corrupt  body,  desire 
not  to  "  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon,  that  mortality 
might  be  swallowed  up  of  life."  It  follows,  therefore, 
without  dwellina;  now  longer  on  this  most  interestinc: 
topic,  that  the  punishment  of  sin,  and  the  reward  of 
righteousness  as  well,  must  be  both  on  body  and  soul, 
or  on  the  entire  man.  The  body  is  the  instrument  of 
the  soul's  ungodly  acts  and  unholy  pleasures  and  con- 
taminating influences,  so  through  and  in  the  body  must 
the  sinful  soul  suffer  punishment ;  yet,  as  the  soul  has 
its  peculiar  properties  which  it  prostitutes  to  sin,  the 
punishment  must  also  be  heavy  on  the  soul  itself  imme- 
diately. 

This,  we  have  seen,  is  the  case  temporally,  because 
the  curse  has  passed  upon  all  men,  and  many  specific 
punishments  occur  on  every  hand.  Yet  it  should  be 
remarked  that  these  inflictions  of  divine  wrath  are  for 
the  most  part  warnings  against  the  wrath  to  come,  that 
men  may  repent ;  and  that  Avhat  remains  of  them  on 
the  believer  have  the  curse  so  taken  out  of  them  as  to 
make  them  parts  of  the  divine  discipline,  educating  his 
vet  sinful  though  penitent  child  for  the  glory  above. 

The  punishment  will  be  eternal,  upon  the  impenitent 
sinner,  body  and  soul  in  this  life,  upon  his  soul  after 
death  until  the  Last  Day,  and  ever  after  upon  him 
body  and  soul,  for  his  body  will  then  be  raised  to  the 
resurrection  of  damnation.  The  eternity  or  perpetuity 
of  the  sinner's  punishment  is  plainly  declared  in  the 


92  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  I.i.*.ct.  IV. 

word  of  God.  Let  one  text  out  of  many  suffice : 
"  These  (the  wicked)  shall  go  away  mto  everlasting 
punishment."  This  proof  is,  however,  objected  to  by 
some  on  the  plea  that  the  original  word,  rendered 
"  everlasting,"  seldom  or  never  in  Scripture  means 
everlasting,  but  only  a  long  period.  Our  answer  is 
easy  and  prompt,  that  the  same  word  is  applied  in  the 
other  part  of  the  verse  to  the  blessedness  of  the  right- 
eous, "  into  life  eternal."  If  the  criticism  were  sound, 
the  happiness  of  the  righteous  as  well  as  the  misery  of 
the  wicked  will  be  for  only  a  limited  period.  But  men 
are  immortal.  Where,  then,  will  the  wicked  immortal 
be  after  having  passed  through  the  age  of  hell  ?  Where 
the  immortal  rio;hteous,  after  the  age  of  heaven  ? 
Where  the  immortal  soul,  when  heaven  and  hell  are 
both  past  ?     The  objection  is  absurd. 

Besides,  if,  as  has  been  shown,  the  natural  effects  of 
sin  are  misery,  and  the  justice  of  God  requires  the 
punishment  of  the  sinner,  those  consequences,  natural 
and  penal,  must  remain  upon  the  sinner  so  long  as  he 
continues  to  be  a  sinner,  every  moment  of  his  sinful- 
ness working  out  fresh  misery  and  provoking  anew  the 
wrath  of  the  Judge.  But  the  Scriptures  teach  us  that 
there  is  no  repentance  after  death,  and  that  with  death 
all  opportunities  of  God's  converting  grace  are  closed  ; 
wherefore  it  must  be  that  the  impenitent  soul  will  grow 
worse  fi'om  the  downward  tendency  of  sin,  and  so  his 
misery  increase  constantly  forever.  Let  us,  then,  dear 
friends,  hasten  while  we  may  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come,  for  there  is  no  escape  across  the  gulf  which  God 
has  fixed  between  hell  and  heaven  !  "  To-day,  if 
'  we '  will  hear  his  voice,  let  us  not  harden  our  hearts," 
lest  he  "  swear  "  unto  us  in  his  "  wrath :  Ye  shall  not 
see  my  rest." 


Lect.  IV.J  punishment  OF  SIN.  93 

Thirdly  :  The  certainty  that  the  sentence  ivill  he 
executed. 

After  the  previous  reasoning,  but  one  objection  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  sinner's  punishment  remains  for  us  to 
answer,  which  is,  that  God  is  merciful,  and,  therefore, 
will  not  be  so  severe  against  his  human  creatures,  even 
though  they  have  broken  his  law.  The  reply  of  the 
Catechism  is  ours  :  "  God,  is,  indeed  merciful,  but  also 
just:  therefore  his  justice  requires  that  sin,  which  is 
committed  agfiinst  the  most  high  majesty  of  God,  be 
also  punished  with  extreme,  that  is,  everlasting  punish- 
ment both  of  body  and  soul." 

That  God  is  merciful,  we  rejoice  in  knowing  from 
countless  passages  of  Scripture,  but  those  which  assert 
his  justice  are  scarcely  less  numerous.  His  justice 
demands  that  sin,  every  sin,  against  his  law  should  be 
followed  with  appropriate  punishment.  His  law  has 
been  proclaimed  with  its  penalty  of  curse,  and  so  the 
punishment  is  now  demanded  by  the  truth  of  God. 
Sin  is  an  oifence  not  only  against  God  himself  as  our 
Creator  and  owner,  but  also  against  him  as  the  most 
high  Sovereign  of  the  universe,  whose  office  is  to  teach 
all  his  intelligent  subjects  what  is  the  way  of  right  and 
the  consequences  of  keeping  or  departing  from  it ;  but 
also  to  defend  and  vindicate  them  from  the  evil  of  sin 
by  which  the  disobedient  may  assail  the  welfare  of  the 
faithful.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  his  mercy,  when 
exercised,  must  be  consistent  with  his  justice,  and  in  no 
case  can  remit  the  punishment  of  sin.  If  by  mercy  is 
meant  mere  pity  for  the  transgressor,  which  allows  him 
to  escape  the  righteous  sentence  against  him,  it  would 
be  a  weakness  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  perfection  of 
God ;  for  where,  then,  would  be  the  force  of  his  law. 


94  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  [Lect.  IV. 

where  the  consistency  of  his  administration,  where  the 
knowledo;e  of  his  wrath  against  sin  ?  What  should  we 
tliink  of  a  human  sovereign,  presiding  over  a  consider- 
able communit}^,  if  he  should  cease  to  execute,  or  irreg- 
ularly execute,  the  laws  out  of  pity  for  the  offenders  ? 
Should  we  not  say  that  he  was  unfit  to  govern,  that 
his  miscalled  mercy  to  the  criminal  was  cruelty  to  the 
many,  because  encouraging  crime  by  the  prospect  of 
impunity  ;  and  that  if  such  a  course  were  continued,  it 
would  end  in  anarchy  and  utter  ruin  ?  Would  this  be 
less  true  on  the  enlarged  scale  of  the  divine  dominion  ? 
So  long  as  we  attribute  to  God  the  moral  government 
of  the  universe,  we  must  believe  that  so  principal  a 
part  of  executive  sovereignty  as  the  punishment  of 
offences  against  organic  law  will  be  faithfully  adminis- 
tered. If  God  punish  not  wrong,  where  shall  we  look 
for  the  vindication  of  right  ? 

God  is  merciful,  but  his  mercy  cannot  contradict  his 
justice.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  method  by  which 
the  divine  mercy  is  justified,  and  the  divine  justice 
administered  through  mercy.  This  is  the  purpose  and 
end  of  the  redemption  through  Christ,  the  delightful 
doctrines  of  which  it  will  be  our  privilege  to  consider 
on  the  subsequent  Lord's  Days.  There  we  may  see 
that,  though  "  all  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God,"  all  who  believe  are  "justified  freely  by 
his  grace,  through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus ;  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation, 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness 
for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  for- 
bearance of  God ;  to  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his 
righteousness  ;  that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier 
of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus."    Yes,  beloved  breth- 


LECT.  IV.]  PUNISHMENT   OF  SIN.  95 

ren,  here  is  our  hope  :  "  Cursed,"  indeed,  "  is  every  one 
that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in 
the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them  ;  but  Christ  hath  re- 
deemed us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a 
curse  for  us."  Death  by  Adam,  life  by  Christ ;  lost 
ourselves,  redeemed  by  Jesus ;  guilty  through  our  own 
sin,  justified  by  the  righteousness  of  Him  in  whom  we 
have  believed.  God  grant  us  all  this  faith,  that  we 
may  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life  !     Amen. 


LECTURE  V. 
NECESSITY  OF   A   MEDIATOR. 


FIFTH   LORD'S   DAY. 
NECESSITY   OF    A   MEDIATOR. 

Quest.  XII.  Since,  then,  by  the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  we  deserve 
temporal  ami  eternal  punishment,  is  there  no  way  by  which  we  ma^ 
escape  that  punishment,  and  be  again  received  into  favor  f 

liNS.  God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied;  and,  therefore,  we  must  make 
this  full  satisfaction,  either  by  ourselves,  or  by  another. 

Quest.  XIII.     Can  we  ourselves,  then,  make  this  satisfaction  ? 

Ans.    By  no  means;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily  increase  our  debt. 

Quest.  XIV.  Can  there  be  found  anywhere  one  who  is  a  mere  creature 
able  to  satisfy  for  us  ? 

Ans.  None;  f>)r,  first,  God  will  not  punish  any  other  creature  for  the  shi 
which  man  has  committed;  and,  further,  no  mere  creature  can  sustain 
the  burden  of  God's  eternal  wrath  against  sin,  so  as  to  deliver  others 

from  it. 
Quest.  XV.     What  sort  of  a  mediator  and  deliverer,  the^,  must  we  seek 

for  ? 
Ans.    For  one  who  is  very  man  and  perfectly  righteous ;  and  yet  more 
powerful  than  all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is  also  very  God. 

HITHERTO  our  meditations  on  the  Catechism  have 
been  sad  and  bitter,  though,  I  trust,  not  unprofit- 
able or  without  ghmpses  of  comfort.  The  shadows  of 
the  curse  have  been  heavy,  yet  the  morning  hght  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  has  gilded  the  horizon.  It  is 
the  method  of  Christ's  Spirit  thus  to  humble  that  he 
may  exalt  us,  and,  by  convincing  us  of  our  guilt,  to 
prepare  us  for  hearing  with  great  joy  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation  ;  nor  could  we  understand  how  we  may  be 
saved  tlirough  the  representative  righteousness  of  Christ, 
did  we  not  first  see  our  ruin  through  the  fall  of  our 
first  father.  "  The  law  "  is  "  our  schoolmaster  to  bnng 
us  unto  Christ,  that  we  "  may  "  be  justified  by  faith.' 
Blessed  be  God,  that  when  our  sense  of  eternal  danger 


100  NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

makes  us  cry  out :  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? 
He  has  himself  given  us  the  answer  by  his  only  begot- 
ten Son,  our  Elder  Brother  !  Yea,  blessed  be  his  holy 
name,  that  he  honors  sinful  men  with  the  happy  office 
of  proclaiming  the  full  and  free  salvation  to  their  fel- 
low-sinners !  O  that  his  grace  would  strengthen  me, 
his  most  unworthy  servant,  this  day  and  at  all  times  of 
my  ministry,  to  make  known  the  methods  of  his  mercy 
so  clearly  that  all  of  you,  my  dear  hearers,  may  by  the 
same  Spirit  be  comforted  and  built  up  in  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  only  "  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved  !  " 

Hereto  assist  us,  the  Almighty  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Amen  ! 

Having  shown  us  our  condemnation  under  the  curse 
denounced  against  sinners,  the  Catechism  leads  us  to 
ask  if  there  be  any  way  of  deliverance  from  the  irre- 
sistible wrath  of  God,  and  gives  a  gleam  of  hope  in  the 
answer  to  Question  the  12th.  "  God  will  have  his  jus- 
tice satisfied  ;  and,  therefore,  we  must  make  this  full 
satisfxction,  either  by  ourselves  or  by  another." 

If,  then,  we  may  escape  through  a  full  satisfaction, 
for  the  dishonor  we  have  done  to  the  holy  law  of  God, 
can  we  ourselves  make  such  a  satisfaction  ?  This  is 
declared  to  be  impossible,  in  the  answer  to  Question  the 
13th.  "  By  no  means  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily 
increase  our  debt." 

But  if  we  look  for  help  to  the  creatures  of  God,  is 
there  any  one  of  them  all  who  could  make  such  satis- 
action  for  us  ?  The  Catechism  replies,  in  the  answer 
to  Question  the  14th,  "  None  ;  for,  first  :  God  will  not 
punish  any  other  creature  for  the  sin  which  man  hath 
committed  :  and,  further  :  no  mere  creature  can  sustain 


Lect.  v.]  NECESSITY  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  101 

the  burden  of  God's  eternal  wrath,  so  as  to    deliver 
others  from  it." 

Thus  denied  all  hope  from  mere  creatures,  what 
kind  of  a  surety  must  we  look  for  ?  Ans.  15th.  "  For 
one  who  is  very  man,  and  perfectly  righteous ;  and  yet 
more  powerful  than  all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is 
also  very  God." 

This  is  our  lesson  proper  for  to-day;  but  if  you 
glance  over  that  of  the  Sixth  Lord's  Day,  you  will  see 
the  doctrines  of  the  14th  and  15th  Questions  and  an- 
swers there  more  thoroughly  opened,  for  which  reason 
we  shall  now  touch  them  but  lightly,  giving  our  atten- 
tion chiefly  to  the  12th  and  13th,  comprising,  however, 
the  treatment  of  the  whole  doctrine  in  both  Lord's 
Days  under  the  following  heads  : 

First  :  The  impossiUlity  of  our  salvation  hy  our  oivn 
ivorks. 

Secondly  :  The  possibility  of  our  salvation  through 
the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute. 

Thirdly  :  The  qualities  necessary  to  a  sufficient  sub- 
stitute, or  mediator,  for  us  with  God. 

Fourthly  :  The  provision  of  such  a  substitute,  or 
mediator,  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  we  learn  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

First  :  Tlie  impossibility  of  our  salvation  by  our  own 
good  works. 

This  is  taught  us,  according  to  Scripture,  in  the  12th 
and  13th  Questions  and  answers :  1.  "  God  will  have 
his  justice  satisfied."  2.  "  We  cannot,"  of  ourselves, 
make  such  satisfaction,  "  but,  on  the  contrary,  ^ve  daily 
increase  our  debt." 

1.  "  God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied."  This,  you 
will  remember,  we  argued  at  length  in  our  lecture  on 


102  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

the  Fourth  Lord's  Day,  when  treating  of  the  10th  and 
11th  Questions  and  answers  ;  but  we  may,  not  unprofit- 
ably,  repeat  the  main  points. 

a.  The  truth  of  God  demands  it ;  for  he  has  expressly 
and  repeatedly  declared  that  "  the  soul  which  sinneth, 
it  shall  die  ;  "  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth 
not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the 
law  to  do  them  " ;  and  that  he  "  will  by  no  means  clear 
the  guilty."  It  cannot,  for  a  moment,  be  supposed 
that  God  will  deny  himself.  What  he  has  said,  he  will 
execute.  Whatever  sophisms  the  carnal  heart  may 
invent,  "  let  God  be  true  and  every  man  a  liar." 

h.  The  holiness  of  God  demands  it ;  for  there  is  such 
a  contrainety  in  sin  to  his  own  purity  that  he  cannot 
look  upon  the  sinner  without  abhorrence ;  and,  as  his 
infinite  blessedness  results  from  his  infinite  holiness,  it 
must  be  that  the  result  of  sin  will  be  misery. 

c.  The  authority  of  God  demands  it ;  for  if,  as  the 
Supreme  Ruler,  he  has  promulgated  his  law,  and  one 
of  his  subjects  break  that  law,  he  is  defied  to  his  face, 
and,  should  he  not  execute  the  penalty  incurred,  the 
transgressor  will  seem  to  triumph,  and  the  divine  rule 
cease  to  be  infallible,  giving  encouragement  and  immu- 
nity to  sin. 

d.  The  care  of  God  for  the  welfare  of  his  subject- 
creatures  demands  it ;  since  his  law  was  given  to  guard 
the  happiness  of  each  from  the  injurious  encroachment 
or  remissness  of  any,  and  sin  is  a  positive  and  wide- 
spreading  injury,  any  tolerance  of  sin  on  his  part  would 
be  to  allow  of  wrong  being  done  by  the  sinner  against 
nis  fellow-subjects,  who  should  have  the  divine  protec- 
tion. 

P:  The  moral  instruction  of  (rod's  rational  subjects 


Lect.  v.]  necessity   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  103 

demands  it ;  for,  only  from  his  revelation  of  his  will  in 
his  word  and  works  can  we  know  what  he  requires  of 
us,  the  distinction  in  his  sight  between  right  and  wrong, 
and  the  estimate  he  sets  upon  righteousness  and  upon 
wrong-doing.  If,  therefore,  he  allow  sin  to  pass  with- 
out punishing  the  sinner,  how  can  we  or  any  observer 
of  his  doings  know  the  way  of  right  and  reward  from 
the  way  of  wrong  and  punishment  ? 

Thus  we  see  that  the  escape  of  a  single  sinner  from 
punishment,  though  he  may  have  committed  but  a 
single  sin,  would  cause  a  fatal  doubt  of  the  divine 
truth,  of  the  divine  holiness,  of  the  divine  authority, 
of  the  divine  goodness,  and  of  the  divine  will.  Truly, 
therefore,  asserts  the  Catechism :  "  God  will  have  his 
justice  satisfied,"  and  until  that  satisfaction  be  ren- 
dered, we  cannot  escape  punishment.  As  certainly  as 
God  is  unchangeable,  the  unjustified  sinner  must  die. 

2.  "  We  cannot,  of  ourselves,  make  satisfaction  to  the 
divine  justice  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  daily  increase 
our  debt." 

Debt,  though  now  commonly  used  for  pecuniary 
obligation,  really  signifies  that  which  is  due,  whatever 
it  be.  Our  debt  to  God  is  twofold  :  The  penalty  we 
have  incurred,  and  the  constant  obedience  required  ; 
both  the  discharge  of  that  penalty,  and  the  rendering 
of  that  obedience,  are  necessary  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  law  to  which  we  are  subject ;  but  in  neither  part 
can  we  render  satisfaction  to  divine  justice. 

a.  Not  by  discharging  the  penalty.  For,  as  has  been 
shown,  the  guilt  of  man,  that  is,  his  desert  of  punish- 
ment, God  considers  so  great  that  no  suffering  of  man 
oan  ever  expiate  it,  and  hence  his  punishment  will  be 
so  long  as  any  guilt  of  his  remains  ;    which,   conse- 


104  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V 

quently,  if  man  be  left  to  himself,  will  be  perpetual  or 
eternal.  We  should  be  continually  enduring  punish- 
ment, but  never  finishing  the  payment  of  the  penalty ; 
and  our  expiation,  being  ever  imperfect,  would  be  pro- 
longed forever. 

But  some  may  ask :  Will  not  God  allow  us  to  atone 
for  our  past  offences  by  future  obedience,  or,  in  other 
words,  make  up  for  past  transgi'essions  by  our  repent- 
ance and  faithful  service  after  this  ?  The  answer  must 
be  in  the  negative.  When  a  penalty  has  been  deserved 
it  must  be  suffered.  No  remorse  can  destroy  the  sinful 
act  done  or  its  consequences.  The  law  has  been 
broken,  the  authority  of  God  has  been  insulted,  the 
evil  against  our  fellow-creatures  has  been  wrought,  the 
sentence  has  been  pronounced  ;  no  regrets  can  annihi- 
late the  past.  Is  it  not  so  under  human  law  ?  Is 
remorse  ever  considered  an  expiation  of  crime,  or 
accepted  in  lieu  of  the  penalty  ?  The  tliief  goes  to 
prison,  the  murderer  to  the  gallows,  though  they  weep 
never  so  bitterly  or  promise  never  so  well.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  the  penalty  may  be  mitigated,  but  it  would  be 
only  because  the  moral  sensibility  displayed  by  the  cul- 
prit shoAvs  that  his  guilt  was  less,  not  that  his  tears  had 
washed  it  away.  Is  it  not  so  under  God's  natural 
laws  ?  Can  the  remorse  of  the  sensualist  repair  the 
peace  he  has  destroyed  ?  or  the  tears  of  the  drunkard 
restore  to  him  the  health  and  vigor  he  has  wasted  ? 
And  shall  a  few  pangs  of  the  sinner's  soul,  caused 
rather  by  dread  of  suffering  than  honest  sorrow  for 
crime,  suffice  to  hide  from  the  holy  God  all  trace  of  his 
offences  against  wise,  good,  and  just  law  ?  Let  it  once 
be  admitted  as  a  pinnciple,  that  sorrow  for  sin  atones  for 
it,  and  the  value  of  law  is  at  an  end.     Again :  The 


I 


LEcr.  v.]  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  105 

law  of  God  is  so  broad  that  it  requires  all  oui  service 
at  all  times.  Every  thought,  every  word,  every  act, 
every  moment  of  our  lives  belong  to  God.  All  our 
mind,  all  our  heart,  all  our  soul,  all  our  might,  belong 
to  God.  We  cannot,  without  sin,  alienate  our  strength 
for  a  single  moment  from  the  duty  which  belongs  to 
that  moment.  If,  therefore,  we  have  at  any  time  failed 
to  render  an  entire  obedience,  we  can  never  compensate 
for  it ;  because,  even  though  we  should  afterward  ren- 
der an  entire  obedience,  it  is  no  more  than  what  we 
owe  to  God  at  the  time,  and  there  can  be  no  excess  or 
surplus  of  service  which  may  be  put  to  the  supply  of 
the  former  deficiency.  This  principle  is  acknowledged 
in  the  administration  of  human  laws  ;  for  they,  requir- 
ing good  conduct  at  all  times,  admit  no  previous  or  sub- 
sequent virtue  as  an  expiation  of  crime.  Though  a 
man  be  honest  all  the  rest  of  his  life,  if  he,  in  any  one 
moment,  steal,  he  is  punished  as  a  thief;  if  he  commit 
but  one  murder,  he  is  executed.  The  penalty  may 
sometimes,  through  a  merciful  policy,  be  mitigated,  but 
can  never,  in  strict  justice,  be  remitted. 

5.  Neither  can  'we  satisfy  divine  justice  by  a  constant 
obedience ;  which  is  the  other  part  of  the  debt  we  owe 
to  God.  Granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  all  the 
penal  consequences  of  our  past  sins  were  removed  from 
us,  and  we  were  allowed  to  begin  anew  our  probation, 
we  could  not,  if  left  to  ourselves  and  our  present 
nature,  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  divine  law,  but, 
"  on  the  contrary,"  should  "  daily  increase  our  debt ;  " 
for,  as  has  been  shown  in  our  previous  lessons  (par- 
ticularly on  the  Second  and  Third  Lord's  Days),  the 
natural  consequence  of  sin  is  the  depravity  of  our 
r-Airal  disposition    and   faculties,  so  that  we  are  from 


106  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

our  very  birth  "  wholly  incapable  of  doing  any  good, 
and  inclined  to  all  wickedness,"  "  except  we  be  regen- 
erated by  the  Spirit  of  God."  Upon  this  depravity  of 
our  nature  we  have  already  argued  so  fully  that  no 
farther  proof  need  be  adduced.  It  is  clearly  a  doctrine 
of  all  Scripture,  especially  that  which  declares,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  can  be"  ^> 
justified,  and,  on  the  other,  that  sincere  repentance  and 
its  fruits  of  a  Christian  life  are  wrought  in  the  believer 
by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  converting  and  sancti- 
fying his  soul.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
and  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  is  bestowed  only  upon  those 
who  by  faith  receive  Christ  as  their  Saviour  because 
the  Saviour  of  sinners.  If  reformation  does  occur,  it 
is  only  through  the  operation  of  faith  in  the  Gospel 
which  reveals  the  atonement,  and  is,  therefore,  conse- 
quent on  the  atonement.  Even  then  the  reformation 
is  never  complete  in  this  life,  and  the  more  a  penitent 
receives  of  divine  grace,  the  more  is  he  convinced  that 
"  it  is  God  who  worketh  in  "  him  "  both  to  will  and  to 
do  of  his  good  pleasure."  Without  the  Spirit  of  Cln-ist 
we  are  utterly  unable  to  render  any  of  that  service 
which  the  law  requires  for  our  justification ;  and  if  we 
be  regenerated  so  that  we  lead  good  lives,  the  credit  is 
due,  not  to  us  for  our  justification,  but  to  him,  whose 
is  the  only  righteousness  which  God  will  accept  as 
sufiicient  to  honor  the  law  under  which  we  live  and 
by  which  we  shall  be  tried. 

Thus  we  see  that  in  no  sense  are  we  able  to  satisfy 
for  ourselves  the  justice  of  God,  but  are  daily  increas- 
ing our  debt,  and  heaping  up  for  ourselves  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath.  Such  would  be  our  miserable 
condition  in  this  world,  and  such  our  terrible  fate  in  the 


Lect.  v.]  necessity   OF   A  MEDIATOR.  107 

world  to  come,  were  there  no  method  provided  for  our 
salvation,  other  than  that  originally  proposed  to  man  : 
our  personal  innocence  and  obedience.  But,  blessed 
be  God,  we  are  not  so  cut  off  from  hope  ;  for  we 
learn : 

Secondly  :  The  possibility  of  our  salvation  through 
the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute. 

"  God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied,  and,  therefore, 
we  must  make  this  full  satisfaction  either  by  ourselves 
or  by  another."   (Ans.  12th.) 

The  necessity  of  satisfaction  having  been  shown,  and, 
also  that  we  cannot  make  it  of  ourselves,  a  new  ques- 
tion arises  :  Will  God  accept  of  satisfaction  rendered 
for  us  by  another? 

The  whole  evangelical  Scriptures,  and  our  Church 
in  all  her  confessions  according  to  Scripture,  answei*: 
Yes.  We  freely  admit  that  no  such  method  of  salva- 
tion could  have  been  discovered  by  the  reason  of  men ; 
but  contend  that,  having  been  revealed  to  us  by  God 
himself,  the  infinitely  wise  and  holy  Sovereign,  it  is 
perfectly  consonant  with  the  highest  reason. 

1.  God  has  declared  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ, 
when  accepted  by  the  faith  of  the  sinner  as  offered  on 
his  behalf,  is  accepted  as  a  sufficient  ground  of  his  jus- 
tification ;  as  says  the  apostle  :  "  All  have  sinned,  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  being  justified  freely 
by  his  grace,  through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus ;  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness 
for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past  through  the  for- 
bearance of  God ;  to  declare,  I  say,  his  righteousness ; 
that  he  might  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  him  which 
believeth  in  Jesus."     This  puts  beyond  doubt  the  fact, 


108  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

that  God  does  justify  the  believing  sinner  on  the 
ground  that  a  sufficient  righteousness  has  been  offered 
on  his  behalf  by  another.  We  may  not,  therefore, 
deny  the  propriety  of  such  an  arrangement  without 
impeaching  the  justice  of  God.     But, 

2.  It  is  also  perfectly  consonant  with  sound  reason. 
The  design  of  God  in  the  denunciation  of  penalties  on 
the  breaking  of  his  law,  certainly  was  not  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  subjects,  but  to  maintain  the  divine  authority 
of  his  law  and  to  deter  man  from  transgression.  Now, 
if  by  the  provision  of  a  sufficient  substitute  for  the  sin- 
ner, three  things  can  be  secured,  God  is  just  in  receiv- 
ing the  sinner  again  into  favor.  Those  three  things 
are :  a.  The  honor  of  the  divine  law.  h.  The  main- 
tenance of  the  divine  authority,  so  that  no  encourage- 
ment is  given  that  sin  will  go  unpunished,  c.  The 
reformation  of  the  transgressor,  so  that  he  returns  to 
obedience. 

a.  For  the  first :  The  honor  of  the  divine  law  ;  it  is 
necessary  that  God  should  show  his  infinite  estimation 
of  its  excellence.  This  is  done  by  the  perfect  submis- 
sion and  obedience  to  the  law  of  the  sufficient  Surety, 
that  in  the  greatness  of  his  service,  the  dishonor 
which  we  have  done  the  law  may  be  covered  by  a 
transcendent  glory.  And  what  greater  honor  could 
God  have  given  to  his  lavv  than  by  sending  forth  his 
only  begotten  and  coequal  Son  to  become  in  our  nature 
its  faithful  servant,  and  obey  all  its  requisitions,  actual 
and  penal,  on  our  behalf?  Must  not  the  spectacle  of 
the  divine  Lawgiver  himself  condescending  to  fulfil  all 
its  demands  as  a  voluntary  servant,  yield  in  the  sight 
of  all  holy  creatures  a  testimony  to  its  excellence  and 
invest  it  with  a  glory  infinitely  higher  and  more  con- 


Lect.  v.]  necessity   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  109 

vincing  than  the  obedience  of  our  whole  race,  or  of 
myriads  of  worlds  like  ours  ? 

h.  For  the  second :  The  maintenance  of  the  divine 
authority ;  it  is  necessary  that  God  sternly  require  the 
penalties  which  we  have  incurred  to  be  fully  endured 
by  a  sufficient  Surety,  in  such  a  manner  as  will  show 
beyond  a  doubt  the  displeasure  of  God  against  sin  and 
his  determination  not  to  allow  it  to  go  unpunished. 
And  how  could  God  more  plainly  indicate  his  jvist  will 
that  no  sin  shall  be  tolerated  with  impunity,  and  display 
his  deep  abhorrence  of  transgression,  than  by  requiring 
the  penalties  which  we  have  incurred  to  the  uttermost 
from  his  own  beloved  Son,  when  incarnate  as  our  re}> 
resentative  ?  Could  the  eternal  suffering  of  all  our  race, 
of  myriads  of  worlds  like  ours,  exhibit  the  divine  wrath 
against  the  sinner,  in  any  degree  approaching  the 
terrible  anguish  of  body  and  soul  which  the  innocent 
holy  Jesus  endured  under  the  displeasure  of  the 
Father  ? 

c.  For  the  third :  The  reformation  of  the  sinner  who 
is  pardoned  on  account  of  the  substituted  righteousness, 
so  that  he  returns  to  obedience ;  it  is  necessary  that  the 
same  grace  which  pardons  should  inspire  him  with  a 
new  life,  with  desire,  and  strength  to  keep  the  law  he 
before  has  broken ;  else  the  pardon  would  be  to  let 
loose  a  rebel  unsubdued,  and  an  evil-doer  unreclaimed. 
And  how  wisely  and  certainly  has  God  secured  the 
repentance  and  sanctification  of  the  ransomed  transgres- 
sor, by  making  the  same  faith  which  admits  him  to  a 
discharge  from  condemnation  effectual,  by  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  to  purify  his  heart,  to  work  in  him  love, 
and  to  strengthen  him  for  overcoming  the  world.  For 
Christ  saves  none  from  wrath  whom  he  does  not  save 


110  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

from  the  power  of  sin  ;  none  have  the  grace  of  ^aith 
without  the  grace  of  repentance  ;  none  have  a  part  in 
Christ  who  do  not  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in 
their  souls  ;  and  none  are  admitted  to  heaven  without 
being  first  made  holy  and  pure.  Where  can  be  found 
such  generous  and  persuasive  arguments  to  cease  from 
simiing  and  do  the  will  of  God,  as  are  forced  upon  the 
soul  by  the  mercy  of  God  through  the  devoted  love  of 
Christ  ?  Who,  that  has  a  heart  at  all  sensitive  to 
grateful  emotion,  would  wilfully  insult  his  deliverer  that 
died  for  him  ?  How  are  we  encouraged,  notwithstand- 
ing our  weakness,  and  the  pressure  of  temptation  from 
within  and  without,  to  attempt  the  difficult  path  of 
duty,  Mdien  we  are  assured  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake, 
will  work  in  us  "  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
pleasure ;  "  that  all  power  is  in  the  hand  of  Christ  to 
overrule  all  circumstances  for  the  safety  of  his  people  ; 
and  that  heaven,  with  all  its  benedictions  and  felicities, 
is  before  us  as  an  eternal  recompense  for  our  brief 
trials,  an  exceedingly  glorious  reward  of  our  persever- 
ance in  the  footsteps  of  Christ  ? 

While  presenting  to  you  this  condensed  argument 
for  the  vindication  of  divine  justice  in  redeeming  the 
penitent  sinner,  we  should  be  far  from  the  thought  that 
we  have  all  the  divine  reasons  for  such  an  arrangement. 
There  are  depths  in  the  divine  purposes  which  no 
created  mind  can  fathom,  as  there  is  a  range  of  the 
divine  operations  which  no  created  mind  can  compre- 
hend. Divine  truth,  so  far  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  here 
in  our  present  state,  must  be  communicated  through 
the  medium  of  human  language,  which  has  been  framed 
(a  very  few  words  excepted)  with  reference  only  to 
things  of  this  world,  and  all  illustrations  of  the  divine 


Lect.  v.]  necessity   OF  A  MEDIATOK.  HI 

working  must  be  taken  from  facts  of  which  we  are 
conversant.  Thus,  the  Scriptures  (and  our  Church 
according  to  the  Scriptures)  exemphfy  the  juridical 
proceedings  of  our  divine  Sovereign  by  the  methods  of 
human  jurisdiction  ;  borrowing  from  them  its  terms,  as 
debt,  penalty,  guilt,  pardon,  justification,  atonement, 
and  the  like  ;  or,  at  the  farthest,  we  look  for  explana- 
tions to  what  we  can  discover  of  the  divine  administra- 
tion in  providence  over  this  present  economy.  But 
what  is  the  narrow  sphere  of  this  little  world,  so  petty 
a  province  considered  by  itself,  to  the  vast  empire  over 
which  our  God  sways  his  sovereignty  ?  What  is  the 
brief  time  of  the  earth's  few  ages  to  the  eternity  past 
and  future,  through  which  the  omniscient  purposes  of 
God  are  carried  on  by  the  mighty  working  of  his 
omnipresent  will  ?  What  is  the  aggregated  fortune  of 
all  our  race,  if  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  spiritual 
creation,  to  the  moral  well-being  of  the  countless 
families,  who  depend  on  our  God  for  all  that  consti- 
tutes the  life  of  life  ?  Of  what  we  can  discover 
respecting  God's  dealings  here  and  among  men,  though 
we  push  our  inquiries  to  the  utmost  limit,  we  must  say 
with  the  adoring  patriarch :  "  Lo !  these  are  parts  of 
his  ways;  but  how  small  a  portion  is  heard  of  him?" 
The  full  doctrine,  or,  if  the  expression  be  allowed,  the 
complete  theory  of  the  atonement ;  the  reasons  for  its 
methods  ;  the  extent  of  its  purposes  ;  the  variety  of  its 
results ;  the  number  and  character  and  condition  of 
the  moral  beings  that  are  and  are  to  be  affected  by  its 
consequences,  can  be  understood  only  by  the  Infinite 
Author  of  the  scheme.  There  must,  after  all  our 
study  and  reasoning  out  of  the  Scripture  and  the  analo- 
gies  of  providence,  remain   mysteries    in   the  plan   of 


112  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

salvation  utterly  above  our  reach ;  and  our  best  illus- 
trations fall  infinitely  short  of  the  vast  idea. 

Suppose,  for  example,  that  the  Allwise  Father  were 
himself  teaching  his  heavenly  servants  the  doctrine  of 
the  redemption  provided  for  man,  w^ould  he  employ  the 
terms  and  the  analogies  Avith  which  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  Scriptures  condescends  to  teach  us  ?  Must  we  not 
believe  that  he  would  uplift  the  attention  of  those  apt, 
long-disciplined  intelligences  to  great  principles  of  the 
divine  government,  but  partially  revealed  to  us  because 
we  are  capable  only  of  partially  understanding  them  ? 

We  cheerfully  and  with  devout  reverence  admit, 
nay,  would  earnestly  contend,  that  the  principles  of  the 
divine  government  on  which  the  atonement  is  based,  as 
it  is  revealed  to  us,  must  be  the  same  throughout  all  its 
extent  —  and,  especially,  that  main  principle  of  justifi- 
cation for  the  believing  penitents  of  our  human  race 
through  the  substituted  obedience  and  suffering  of  the 
Son  of  God  in  our  nature  as  our  representative  ;  but 
what  we  mean  to  assert  is,  that  that  very  principle  is 
and  can  be  only  partially,  very  partially  understood  by 
us  even  through  the  revelation  God  has  given  of  it  to 
us,  because  from  the  condition  we  are  in,  the  revelation 
must  be  confined  within  comparatively  narrow  limits. 
Thus  the  Apostle  Paul  speaks  of  "  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ,"  and  of  "  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passeth  knowledge  ;  "  and  again  with  the  same  reference 
he  exclaims  :  "  O,  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  how  unsearchable  are 
his  judgments  and  his  ways  past  finding  out !  " 

This  is  certain,  the  testimony  of  Scripture  being  so 
clear  as  to  allow  no  doubt,  that  the  influence  of  the 
plan  of   redemption  extends    far  beyond    the    Church 


Lect.  v.]  necessity  of  a  mediator.  113 

which  it  translates  from  the  depth  of  condemnation  to 
the  height  of  heavenly  glory  ;  nay,  we  may  believe  that 
the  radiance  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  sheds  fresh 
magnificence  over  all  the  spiritual  universe  of  God's 
creation.  The  Apostle  Peter  declares  that  "  the  angels 
desire  to  look  into  the  things  of  redemption  ;  "  and  Paul 
that  "  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places " 
will  be  taught  and  are  now  taught  "  by  the  church 
(that  is,  by  God's  dealings  with  the  church)  the  mani- 
fold wisdom  of  God."  Jesus  is  declared  to  be  the 
observed  "  (seen)  of  angels ;  "  and  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain  will  be  eternally  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  ; 
the  eternal  object  of  admiration,  adoration,  and  praise 
to  all  the  angelic  hosts,  who  will  alternate  their  respon- 
sive hallelujalis  with  glorified  believers,  and  join  with 
them  in  the  unanimous,  unending  choruses  of  acclaim- 
ing homage  before  the  throne  of  God  and  his  Christ. 
What  the  effects  of  the  evangelical  scheme  on  other 
worlds  may  be,  we  know  not  and  dare  not  conjecture ; 
but  this  we  are  certain  of,  that  it  reveals  to  all  his  holy 
creatures  who  contemplate  the  divine  character,  its 
very  highest  glory,  his  most  manifold  wisdom  and  love 
and  power.  It  is  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace  that  he  has  made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved." 
God  has  manifested  the  glory  of  his  majestic  attri- 
butes in  many  ways,  some  of  which  we  know,  but  more 
of  which  we  cannot  understand  ;  yet  it  may  without 
irreverence  be  asserted,  that  were  it  not  for  the  shining 
of  his  glory  in  the  face  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  the 
full  beauty  and  the  most  attractive  charm  of  his 
infinite  love  would  not  be  known.  His  holy  servants 
would  forever  have  adored  his  several  excellences,  but 
could  not  have  perceived  their  admirable  harmony  as 


114  NECESSITY   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  V. 

now  they  behold  his  wisdom  devising  and  his  power 
executing  the  wonderful  plan  of  salvation  for  the  sin- 
ner, in  which  justice  and  goodness  combine  to  reveal 
mercy.  The  justice  of  God,  had  it  taken  its  unquali- 
fied course  in  punishing  the  sinner,  —  the  goodness  of 
God,  had  its  bounties  been  confined  only  to  the  deserv- 
ing and  guiltless,  —  would  indeed,  have  received  and 
been  worthy  of  all  praise  from  all  holy  creatures.  Still 
those  most  glorious  attributes  ai^e  naturally  essential  to 
the  divine  Sovereign  ;  we  could  not  imagine  the  Holy 
Father  of  intelligent  creatures  otherwise  than  just  and 
good.  The  exercise  of  those  divine  qualities  is  neces- 
sary to  the  idea  of  God  ;  but  that  they  could  meet  in 
blessing  on  the  souls  of  gTiilty  sinners,  no  created  mind 
could  ever  have  conjectured  or  believed  to  be  possible 
had  not  God  made  it  manifest.  His  mercy  surprises 
and  startles  the  moral  universe  with  a  mild  and 
exquisite  glory,  transcending  all  other  emanations  from 
the  light  unapproachable  in  which  the  mystery  of  his 
being  dwells.  It  is  brighter  than  justice,  softer  than 
goodness  ;  for  it  is  justice  and  goodness  blending  their 
beams  in  mercy,  —  his  choice,  his  delight,  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  sovereign  will. 

Now,  dear  hearers,  let  us  learn  and  carry  away  with 
us  the  practical  inferences,  from  the  doctrine  thus  far 
developed. 

First  :  Our  utter  helplessness  under  our  deserved 
condemnation. 

God  will  have  his  justice  satisfied.  Who  of  us  can 
escape  from  his  hands,  or  bear  the  fiery  vengeance  of 
his  curse  ?  O,  vain  and  impious  is  the  expectation  of 
the  sinner  from  the  goodness  or  pity  of  God,  while  his 


Lect.  v.]  necessity  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  115 

justice  with  flaming  sword  stands  between  to  execute 
the  sentence  of  the  law. 

Secondly:  Our  certain  salvation,  if,  with  penitent 
hearts,  we  accept  of  the  suretyship  of  Christ. 

It  is  the  method  God  has  provided,  because  he 
delio-hts  to  save.  It  is  the  method  which  magnifies  his 
justice  infinitely  more  than  our  eternal  death.  It  is 
the  method  by  which  we  may  be  transformed  from  deep 
corruption  into  holy  servants  of  his  will  forever. 

Thirdly  :  Our  gracious  obligation  to  spread  the 
knowledge  of  this  mercy  among  our  fellow-sinners,  for 
their  immortal  good  ;  the  joy  of  angels  ;  our  own  re- 
ward, and  the  glory  of  God  our  Saviour. 


LECTURE  VI. 
QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOK. 


SIXTH  LORD'S   DAY. 
QUALITIES    OF   THE   MEDIATOR. 

4UEST.  XVI.      Why  must  he  be  very  man,  and  yet  jjerfectly  rlgldeuus  f 

Ans.  Because  the  justice  of  God  requires  tliat  the  same  nature  whicli  hath 
sinned,  should  likewise  make  satisfaction  for  sin;  and  one  who  is  him- 
self a  sinner  cannot  satisfy  for  others. 

Quest.  XVII.     WJiy  must  he  in  oneperson  he  also  very  God? 

Ans.  That  he  might  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead,  sustain  in  his  human 
nature,  the  burden  of  God's  wrath;  and  might  obtain  for,  aiid  restore 
to  us  righteousness  and  life. 

Quest.  XVIII.  Who  is,  then,  that  Mediator,  who  is  in  one  person  both  very 
God  and  real  I'igkteous  man? 

Ans.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom  and 
righteousness,  and  sanctiflcation  and  redemption. 

Quest.  XIX.     Whence  knowest  thou  this  ? 

Ans.  From  the  holy  Gospel  which  God  himself  revealed  first  in  Paradise, 
and  afterwards  published  by  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  was 
pleased  to  represent  it  by  the  shadows  of  sacrifices  and  the  other 
shadows  of  the  law  ;  and,  lastlj',  has  accomplished  it  by  his  only 
begotten  Son. 

^HE  lesson  for  the  Fifth  Lord's  Day  set  forth  in  the 
-*-  t2th  Question  and  answer  :  The  necessity  of  a 
satisfaction  being  made  for  our  sins  in  order  to  our  sal- 
vation ;  in  the  13th  :  Our  utter  inability  to  make  such 
satisfaction  for  ourselves  ;  and  in  the  14th  :  The  in- 
sufficiency of  any  mere  creature  to  make  satisfaction 
for  us ;  which  led  to  the  15th  Question  :  What  sort  of 
Mediator  and  Deliverer  must  Ave  then  seek  for  ?  The 
answer  given  to  which,  is :  "  For  one  who  is  very  man, 
and  perfectly  righteous  ;  and  yet  more  powerful  than 
all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is  also  very  God." 

But  those  who  were  attentive  to  our  lecture  on  the 
Fifth  Lord's  Day  will  remember  the  statement,  —  that 


120  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VI 

the  doctrine  of  the  Mediator  between  God  and  man, 
which  is  opened  in  the  14th  and  15th  questions  and 
answers,  is  more  thoroughly  discussed  throughout  those 
for  the  Sixth  Lord's  Day  ;  and  that,  therefore,  for 
greater  convenience,  it  was  proposed  to  consider  the 
whole  subject  under  four  heads  :  — 

First  :  The  impossibility  of  our  salvation  by  our  own 
works. 

Secondly  :  The  possibility  of  our  salvation  by  or 
through  the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute. 

Thirdly  :  The  qualities  necessary  to  a  sufficient  sub- 
stitute or  mediator  for  us  tvith  God. 

Fourthly  :  The  provision  of  such  a  substitute  or 
mediator  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

The  first  two  of  these  heads  were  then  discussed  at 
considerable  length,  leaving  the  third  and  fourth  for 
discussion  to-day  ;  which,  imploring  divine  help,  we 
shall  now  pursue. 

Thirdly  :  The  qualities  necessary  to  a  sufficient  sub- 
stitute or  mediator  for  us  with  God. 

The  answer  to  the  14th  Question  denies  that  he  may 
be  "  a  mere  creature,"  because,  "  first :  God  will  not 
punish  any  other  creature  for  the  sin  which  man  has 
committed  ;  and,  further,  no  mere  creature  can  sustain 
the  burden  of  God's  eternal  wrath  against  sin,  so  as  to 
deliver  others  from  it."  The  answer  to  the  15th  Ques- 
tion asserts  that  "  our  Mediator  and  Deliverer"  must 
be  :  '•'  One  who  is  very  man,  and  yet  perfectly  righteous, 
and  yet  more  powerful  than  all  creatures,  that  is,  one 
who  is,  also,  very  God." 

He  must  be  "  very  man,  and  yet  perfectly  right- 
eous," says  the  answer  to  the  16th  Question  :  "  Because 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES   OF   THE  MEDIATOK.  121 

the  justice  of  God  requires,  that  the  same  nature  which 
hath  sinned  should  likewise  (i.  e.  also)  make  satisfac- 
tion for  sin  ;  and  one  who  is  himself  a  sinner  cannot 
satisfy  for  others."  He  "  must  also  in  one  person  he 
very  God,"  says  the  answer  to  the  17th  Question : 
"  That  he  miglit,  hy  the  power  of  his  Godhead,  sus- 
tain in  his  human  nature  the  burden  of  God's  wrath ; 
and  mio-ht  obtain  for  and  restore  to  us  righteousness 
and  life!" 

This  instruction  of  the  Catechism  is  so  full  and  clear 
as  to  render  any  prolonged  commentary  of  ours  need- 
less ;  yet  some  more  specific  explanations  may  not  be 
without  use  ;  and  they  will  be  given  under  two  propo- 
sitions :  — 

I.  The  Substitute  and  Mediator  must  be  "  very  (or 
truly)  man,  and  perfectly  righteous." 

II.  He  must  "  also  be  very  God  in  one  person  "  with 
his  human  nature. 

I.  He  must  be  "  very  man,  and  perfectly  righteous." 

1.  No  other  mere  creature  can  be  accepted  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  man. 

A.  "  God  will  not  punish  any  other  creature  for  the 
sin  which  man  has  committed." 

a.  God  would  not  compel  any  other  creature  to  suf- 
fer for  man's  sin.  If  that  creature  be  himself  a  sinner, 
he  must  suffer  the  punishment  of  his  own  sin,  Avhich  he 
can  never  sufficiently  expiate  ;  and,  therefore,  no  suf- 
ferings of  his  can  be  put  to  the  credit  of  the  sinner  of 
another  nature.  There  are  various  ranks  of  spiritual 
creatures,  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  among 
the  angels  who  have  fallen  there  are  some  of  very  high 
rank  originally  ;  but  according  to  their  original  height 
has  been  the  depth  of  their  fall ;  according  to  the  emi- 


122  QUALITIES    OF   THE   MEDL\TOIl.  [Lect.  VI. 

nence  of  their  duties  has  been  the  guilt  of  their  rebellion. 
They  suffer  for  themselves  ;  they  cannot  be  made  to 
suffer  more  than  they  deserve ;  nor,  if  that  were  possi- 
ble, would  the  infliction  of  any  additional  sufferings  on 
them  for  man's  sake  be  just  to  them,  or  give  any  honor 
to  the  law  which  man  has  broken.  Neither,  if  the 
other  creature  be  innocent,  would  it  be  just  to  impose 
upon  him  sufferings  which  he  does  not  deserve,  that 
man  mieht  be  relieved  from  sufferings  which  he  does 
deserve.  The  authority  of  God  could  never  be  vindi- 
cated by  such  treatment  of  a  creature  who  is  entitled  to 
reward  for  his  obedience. 

b.  Nor,  again,  may  such  a  creature,  however  highly 
exalted,  voluntarily  assume  the  place  of  man,  either  to 
endure  man's  punishment  for  the  sins  he  has  committed, 
or  to  perform  the  duties  which  he  has  omitted,  both 
being  necessary  to  the  satisfaction  demanded.  For 
every  creature,  from  the  fact  of  his  creation,  is  a  ser- 
vant of  God,  bound  to  use  all  his  faculties  with  the 
utmost  energy  of  which  he  is  capable  in  the  sphere 
where  God  has  placed  him,  and  can  never  do  more 
than  his  duty.  To  take  man's  place,  therefore,  he 
must  desert  his  own  ;  to  endure  man's  punishment,  to 
perform  man's  duties,  he  must  use  faculties  and  time 
which  already  belong  to  God.  The  just  authority  of 
God  would  be  aggrieved,  not  honored,  by  the  disobe- 
dience of  an  angel  to  the  law  under  which  he  is  placed, 
that  he  might  obey  the  law  under  which  man  is  placed. 
A  creature  of  God  cannot  change  his  sphere  of  duty 
any  more  than  he  can  change  his  nature,  for  they  are 
by  the  divine  appointment  necessarily  relative  to  each 
other,  not  matters  of  the  creature's  choice,  but  abso- 
lutely of  the  divine  will. 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  123 

B.  "  Further :  no  mere  creature  can  sustain  the 
burden  of  God's  wrath  against  sin  so  as  to  deliver  oth- 
ers from  it." 

Even  if  it  were  possible  that  another  mere  creature, 
however  holy  and  exalted,  could  take  our  place,  no 
amount  of  suffering  on  his  part  would  be  sufficient  to 
make  up  for  the  sufferings  we  need  to  be  released  from. 

a.  The  punishment  appointed  to  the  sinner  is  ever- 
lasting, because  he  can  never,  by  any  suffei'ings  he  is 
capable  of,  exhaust  the  penalty.  Yet  the  distance  in 
dignity  between  any  other  creature  and  man  is,  of 
necessity,  limited ;  how,  then,  can  our  punishment, 
which  is  unlimited,  be  substituted  by  any  sufferings  of 
his  short  of  eternal  ?  The  substitution,  if  undertaken, 
can  never  be  accomplished. 

b.  Besides  :  the  sinners  to  be  redeemed  are  a  ereat 
multitude,  whom  no  man  can  number,  and  the  substi- 
tute would  have  to  bear  in  his  single  person  the  aggre- 
gate responsibility  of  them  all ;  if,  then,  the  punishment 
of  one  sinner  be  so  heavy  that  he  cannot  exhaust  it,  but 
must  suffer  on  forever,  what  mere  creature  could 
endure  the  imputed  sufferings  of  the  whole  Church  ? 
A  proper  idea  of  the  atonement  will  not  tolerate  for  an 
instant  the  substitution  of  a  mere  creature  to  satisfy  the 
wrath  of  God  which  we  deserve. 

2.  The  character  of  our  responsibility  is  such  that  it 
cannot  be  assumed  except  by  one  in  human  nature,  jei 
himself  guiltless. 

A.  "  The  justice  of  God  requires  that  the  same  hu- 
man natui-e  which  hath  sinned,  should  likewise  make 
satisfaction  for  sin."  (16th  Ans.) 

Even  were  another  creature  found  capable  of  endur- 
ing the  weight  of  our  punishment,  the  circumstances  of 


124  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VL 

our  sin  ai'e  such  that  he  could  not  assume  its  guilt  or 
render  a  satisfactory  obedience  on  our  behalf;  for  — 

a.  The  law  which  has  been  outrao-ed  was  siven  to 
man,  was  adapted  to  his  nature,  and  ordered  for  his 
sphere  of  service.  Righteousness,  it  is  true,  must  be 
ever  and  everywhere  the  same  in  its  essential  qualities. 
The  same  great  principles  of  right  must  rule  over  all 
the  subjects  of  God  ;  yet,  as  the  natures  of  those  subjects 
are  various,  and  different  theatres  of  action  are  assigned 
to  their  different  natures,  it  follows,  that  the  manner  in 
which  the  obedience  is  to  be  rendered  must  be  peculiar 
to  each  class.  The  service  demanded  of  a  pure  spirit, 
which  has  been  created  to  live  without  a  body,  must  be 
different  from  that  demanded  of  a  spirit  created  to  live 
in  a  body ;  for  example,  the  service  of  angelic  spirit 
from  that  of  a  human  being.  Take  the  ten  precepts 
of  the  law  given  to  man,  and  you  see  that  there  are 
human  duties  which  a  holy  angel  cannot  perform,  as 
there  are  offences  which  a  wicked  angel  cannot  commit. 
Even  one  class  of  angels  or  unembodied  spirits  may 
have  duties  assigned  them  for  which  they  are  fitted, 
differing  from  those  for  which  other  classes  of  angels 
are  fitted,  each  class  being  under  its  peculiar  law,  v/ith- 
in  its  peculiar  sphere,  beyond  which  it  cannot  go.  How 
much  less  can  an  angel,  or  unembodied  spirit,  come 
under  the  peculiar  obligations  of  man  ?  The  law, 
given  to  man  for  his  obedience  on  earth,  can  be  obeyed 
or  satisfied  only  by  human  nature  on  earth,  or  in 
man's  proper  sphere.  That  law,  imposed  by  the  Cre- 
ator on  human  nature,  to  be  obeyed  in  his  body  on 
earth,  man  has  broken  ;  and  the  earth  is  full  of  his  re- 
bellion. Whatever  laws,  therefore,  are  obeyed,  if  the 
law  given  to  man  remain  dishonored,  the  government 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES  OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  125 

of  God  is  shaken.  Whatever  classes  of  his  moral  creat- 
ures are  faithful,  if  man  be  a  successful,  unpunished 
sinner,  the  justice  of  God  is  uncertain.  Whatever  prov- 
inces of  his  empire  are  loyal  and  tributary,  if  in  this 
world  his  authority  be  not  vindicated,  it  ceases  to  be 
sovereign.  Whatever  decrees  of  his  will  are  fulfilled, 
if  the  sentence  against  sinful  man  be  not  executed,  his 
truth  has  failed.  The  satisfaction  necessarv  for  our 
safety  must,  therefore,  we  repeat,  be  made  to  the  law 
appointed  for  us,  in  our  nature  and  upon  our  earth. 
So  we  read  that :  "  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a 
woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that 
were  under  the  law." 

b.  The  penalties  denounced  against  sin  are  of  such  a 
nature  that  none  but  man  can  endure  them  so  as  to  fii'ee 
us  from  guilt.  The  sentence  pronounced  on  man  is 
death,  —  death  of  body,  and  death  of  soul,  —  which  we 
know  includes  all  the  sicknesses,  pains,  and  corruption 
of  the  body,  with  all  the  sorrow,  anguish,  and  degrada- 
tion of  spirit  which  is  occasioned  by  the  withdrawal  of 
God's  favor  and  the  weight  of  his  wrath.  This  death 
of  our  entire  human  nature,  temporal  and  eternal,  is 
the  punishment  we  deserve  and  must  suffer,  except  we 
be  delivered  from  it  by  a  sufficient  satisfaction  rendered 
for  us.  None  but  man  can  know  and  feel  the  sori'ows 
and  agony  of  man  in  body  and  soul ;  none  but  man  can 
suffer  the  pains  and  distresses  of  our  mortal  life,  or 
our  eternal  death,  the  death  "  passed  upon  all  men 
because  that  all  have  sinned."  So  we  read  of  our 
Redeemer :  "  Forasmuch,  then,  as  the  children  are  par- 
takers of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  took  part  of 
the  same,  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver 


126  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VI 

them,  who  through  fear  of  death  Avere  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage.  For,  verily,  he  took  not  on  him  the 
nature  of  angels,  but  he  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham. Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behooved  him  to  be 
made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  mer- 
ciful and  faithful  high-priest  in  things  pertaining  to 
God,  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  his  people." 

There  are  other  and  most  important  reasons  why  the 
Mediator  should  be  very  man,  which  we  may  not  now 
enter  upon,  but  hope  to  consider  fully  when  they  are 
brought  before  us  by  subsequent  sections  of  the  Cate- 
chism. Yet  we  may  ask :  How  may  sinful  man  dare 
approach  unto  God;  how  may  he  know  that  God  will 
again  dwell  with  men  ;  that  his  fallen  nature  may  again 
enjoy  the  felicity  of  his  presence  and  the  light  of  his 
love,  unless  he  saw  one  made  in  the  likeness  of  his  own 
sinful  flesh  holding  intimate  communion  with  God, 
glorious  himself  from  communications  of  the  divine 
glory,  and  standing  before  us  as  the  medium  through 
whom  we  may  look  upon  God  and  not  die,  —  unless 
God  be  again  with  man  on  earth,  as  he  was  once  in 
Paradise,  speaking  to  man  as  to  his  dear  child  ? 

B.  The  Mediator  in  our  human  nature  must  be  "  per- 
fectly righteous,"  because  "  one  who  is  himself  a  sinner 
cannot  satisfy  for  others."  This  point  is  so  clearly  stated, 
that  no  argument  of  ours  is  needed  to  make  it  clearer ; 
but  it  is  stated  so  distinctly  to  prepare  us  for  faith  in 
him  who  has  been  constituted  by  God  as  our  Mediator 
and  Substitute.  The  perfect  righteousness  of  the  man 
who  is  our  surety  must  be  twofold ;  innocence  and  ac- 
tive obedience. 

a.  Innocence. —  He  must  be  without  sin.  If  he  had 
committed  sin,  his  own  guilt  would  be  upon  him  ;  and 


I 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES   OF   THE  MEDIATOR.  127 

he  would  be  rejected  by  God  in  his  own  person,  much 
more  as  a  mediator  for  liis  fellow-sinners.  So  we  read 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  that  "  he  did  no  sin,  neither 
was  guile  found  in  his  mouth." 

h.  Active  Obedience.  —  The  satisfaction  for  us  required 
by  God,  is  not  merely  a  sufficient  suffering  in  room  of 
that  which  we  deserve  on  account  of  our  ti'anso-ression, 
but  an  honoring  of  the  law  by  an  active  obedience  suf- 
ficient to  be  substituted  in  room  of  that  which  we  are 
bound  to  render,  and  which  is  necessary,  according  to 
the  divine  justice,  for  our  re-admission  within  the  divine 
favor,  vouchsafed  only  to  those  who  are  righteous  in 
his  sight.  Such  positive,  energetic  righteousness,  no 
sinner,  whose  faculties  have  been  depraved  by  the  cor- 
ruption of  human  nature  consequent  upon  the  fall,  can 
render.  "  He  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him." 

The  inference  from  this  is,  that  the  mediator  or  sub- 
stitute we  need  must  be  man,  partaker  of  all  other 
human  characteristics,  but  not  of  sin  ;  and,  therefore, 
as  all  our  race  are  fallen  in  Adam,  guilty  of  overt,  per- 
sonal sins,  and  utterly  without  moral  strength  to  honor 
God  by  keeping  his  law,  the  mediator  or  substitute  for 
us  in  human  nature,  must  be  man  after  some  extraor- 
dinary method  which  excepts  him  from  the  otherwise 
universal  entailment  of  guilt  and  corruption,  while  he 
inherits  all  our  weaknesses  which  are  not  sinful.  Our 
guilt  and  corruption  are  derived  from  Adam  in  the  same 
manner  that  our  being  is  derived  from  him  ;  "  Adam 
begat  his  '  children '  in  his  own  likeness  ,•  "  we  are  "  con- 
ceived in  sin  and  brought  forth  in  iniquity  ;  "  that  can- 
not be  human  nature,  which  is  not  born  of  woman  ; 


128  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR,  [Lect.  VI. 

that  cannot  be  sinless  human  nature  which  is  begotten 
by  man  ;  hence,  our  surety  in  liuraan  nature  must  be 
conceived  from  some  "  extraordinary  generation,"  con- 
ceived M^ithout  sin,  brought  forth  without  iniquity,  yet, 
because  his  flesh  and  blood  are  derived  from  woman, 
having  the  physical  weaknesses  of  humanity,  being 
subject  to  all  those  infirmities,  but  without  sin.  So 
we  read  of  our  Lord's  miraculous  conception,  in 
the  words  of  the  angel  to  the  Virgin  Mary  (Let 
"  all  generations  call  her  blessed  !  ")  "  The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the 
Highest  shall  overshadow  thee  ;  therefore  also  that  holy 
thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God."  The  germ  of  the  body  was  in  the  woman, 
and  in  her  womb  it  grew  till  its  birth,  and  from  her 
bosom  was  it  nourished  after  its  birth,  but  the  impreg- 
nating power  was  of  God,  and,  therefore,  was  the  flesh 
and  blood  of  the  "child  wonderful"  holy  ;  of  the  seed 
of  Adam,  Abraham,  Judah,  and  David,  through  his 
mother,  but  sanctified  in  the  first  beginning  of  his  hu- 
man nature  by  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

11.  Our  Mediator  and  Substitute  "  must  also  be  very 
God  in  one  person  "  with  his  human  nature. 

For  this  two  reasons  are  given  by  the  Catechism 
(17th  Ans.) 

"  That  he  might  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead  sus- 
tain in  his  human  nature  the  burden  of  God's  wrath  ;  " 
and 

"  Micrlit  obtain  for  and  restore  us  to  righteousness 
and  life." 

1.  "  That  he  might,  by  the  power  of  his  Godhead, 
sustain  in  his  human  natui'e  the  burden  of  God's 
wrath." 


Lect.  YI.]  qualities   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  129 

A.  Because  the  burden  of  God's  wrath  is  too  great 
for  human  nature,  unsupported,  to  endure. 

It  is  the  wrath  of  God  against  the  sinner.  The 
sentence  denounced  against  the  sinner  is  death,  which 
we  have  seen  to  be  the  utter  withdrawal  of  the  divine 
favor  and  the  actual  infliction  of  his  vengeance.  The 
moment  that  this  sentence  comes  upon  the  sinner  in  its 
full  execution,  he  must  be  crushed  —  he  must  die. 
There  can  be  in  him  no  vital  energy  left,  no  recupera- 
tive force  —  the  weight  presses  him  down  forever. 
The  substitute  must  be  man,  because  it  is  the  penalty 
of  the  law  given  to  man.  But  if  he  were  mere  man, 
thpugh  himself  righteous,  the  weight  of  the  imputed 

guilt  of  a  single  sinner  would  crush  him  in  death  for- 
es & 

ever.  He  could  never  react  from  under  it ;  his  power 
would  be  lost ;  he  would  be  dead.  Nor  could  the 
strength  of  any  creature  avail  for  his  help  in  so  extreme 
an  emergency.  How,  then,  shall  the  one  mediator  be 
enabled  to  sustain  the  otherwise  intolerable  burden  ? 
All  the  wit  of  men  and  angels  could  never  resolve  the 
difficulty  ;  we  must  go  for  our  answer  to  the  revelation 
of  the  Gospel.  "  God  "  is  there  "  manifest  in  the 
flesh."  Man  still  stands  forth  the  substitute  of  man, 
to  receive  upon  his  head  the  terrible  curse ;  one  person 
is  still  to  meet  it  alone ;  but  that  Person  is  not  merely 
man  ;  by  an  ineffable  mystery,  the  coequal  Son  of  God 
assumes  that  humanity  to  himself,  so  that  the  Son  of 
God  and  the  son  of  the  woman,  very  God  and  ver}' 
man,  their  natures  still  distinct,  yet  in  their  distinctness 
united,  constitute  one  Person,  the  Substitute  of  the  sin- 
ner. The  Son  of  God  thus  makes  the  human  nature 
of  the  Son  of  man  his  own.  The  wrath  divine  comes 
not  on  the  Son  of  God,  for  divinity  can  in  no  sense  suf- 

VOL.    1.  9 


130  QUALITIES   OF   THE  BIEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VI. 

fer  or  be  put  to  shame  ;  it  falls  on  the  human  nature 
alone,  because  the  justice  of  God  requires  that  the 
nature,  which  has  sinned,  should  bear  the  penalty  of 
the  sin  ;  but  the  divinity  in  the  person  of  the  mediator 
sustains  by  its  almightiness  the  humanity  in  the  person 
of  the  mediator  to  bear  up  under  the  curse,  and,  whire 
fully  satisfying  the  wrath  of  God,  yet  to  retain  a  vital 
energy  sufficient  for  its  recovery  from  the  imputed 
death.  The  human  nature  alone  endures,  but  endures 
by  the  strength  of  the  divine,  to  which  it  is  personall}^ 
associated.  Thus,  the  apostle  speaks  of  the  "  Church 
of  God  which  he  hath  redeemed  hy  his  own  blood;''' 
i.  e.  by.  the  blood  of  the  human  nature  which  through 
his  incarnation  he  made  "  his  own."  "  God  sent  forth 
his  Son"  (elsewhere  called  his  only  begotten  Son, 
therefore  Divine,  as  the  begotten  is  of  the  natvire  of 
the  begetter)  —  his  Son  must  have  existed  before  he 
sent  him  forth  —  sent  fortli  his  preexistent  Son  "made 
of  a  woman,"  that  is,  united  to  the  Son  of  man  as  the 
Saviour  of  sinners.  So  again,  we  read,  that  Christ 
Jesus,  "  being  in  the  form  of  God  (^.  e.  existing  as 
God)  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  ;  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men; 
and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  him- 
self and  became  obedient  to  (until)  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross."  Great  as  must  have  been  the 
wrath  of  God  which  came  on  the  human  nature  of  our 
Substitute,  the  strength  of  God  could  enable  that  hu- 
man nature  to  bear  it. 

B.  Because  the  merit  of  no  suffering  endured  by  a 
mere  man  would  be  sufficient  for  the  redemption  of  tlie 
Church,  saved  through  the  Mediator. 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES   OF   THE   MEDIATOR.  131 

If  the  wrath  of  God  aoainst  a  sino-le  sinner  be  so 
intolerable,  how  could  a  single  man,  as  their  substitute, 
sustain  the  wrath  due  to  such  a  multitude  ? 

A  ready  answer  is,  that  the  divine  strength  of  the 
Immanuel  could  uphold  his  human  nature  under  any 
degree  of  penal  suffering  ;  but  the  reply  goes  not  far 
enough,  for  it  will  be  asked  again,  Upon  what  principle 
of  justice  can  one  man  be  accepted  in  the  room  of 
many  ?  If  he  be  a  mere  man,  how  can  the  divine  law 
be  magnified  by  his  suffering,  let  him  suffer  never  so 
much,  so  that  man}-  sinners  may  escape  by  his  substitu- 
tion ?  It  is  obvious  that  whei'e  one  stands  forth  as  a 
substitute  for  very  many,  he  cannot  be  accepted  unless 
he  has  in  his  single  person  a  dignity,  or  worth,  far 
excelling  that  of  a  private  individual  man,  and  com- 
mensurate to  the  vast  representativeness  which  he 
would  assume.  It  is  true,  that  by  one  man,  Adam, 
condemnation  to  death  came  on  our  whole  race ;  but 
Adam  acted  not  merely  as  a  private  individual ;  nor 
became  he  man  by  ordinary  generation  ;  he  was  created 
immediately  by  God,  so  that  the  sacred  genealogist 
hesitates  not  to  call  him  "  the  Son  of  God "  ("Enos, 
which  was  the  son  of  Seth,  which  was  the  son  of 
Adam,  which  Avas  the  son  of  God,"  Luke  iii.  38)  ; 
and,  deriving  his  nature  in  this  extraordinary  way,  he 
was  constituted  in  the  dignity  of  head  of  his  race.  He 
could  justly  represent  all  human  nature,  because  all 
human  nature  was  in  him,  All  his  descendants  fell 
with  him  ;  all  are  under  the  condemnation  which  he 
brought  upon  them  :  where,  then,  among  those  guilty 
descendants  can  one  be  found  of  competent  worth  to 
take  the  place  of  a  second  Adam,  the  headship  of  a 
new  race,  the  Redeemer  of  sinful  men  who  are  repre- 


132  QUALITIES    OF   THE   MEDIATOR.         [Lect.  VI 

sented  by  his  sufterings  expiatory  of  their  offences  ?  It 
is  obvious,  again,  that  the  Secoixl  Adam,  like  the  first, 
must  be  the  Son  of  God,  of  sufficient  dignity  to  be 
constituted,  and  actually  constituted  by  God,  Head  or 
Representative  of  all  who  are  to  be  redeemed  through 
him.  There  must  also  be  such  a  worth,  or  legal  value, 
in  his  sufferings,  as  fully  to  vindicate  the  justice  of 
God  in  accepting  them  on  behalf  of  the  sinners  saved. 
But  we  have  seen  from  our  previous  reasoning  that  no 
mere  creature  could  be  accepted  to  bear,  or  could  bear, 
if  accepted,  the  svifferings  due  to  us.  How,  then,  shall 
this  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  just  mercy  be  met  ?  (O 
the  matchless  wisdom  of  divine  love !)  The  Only 
Begotten,  eternal  Son  of  God  himself,  becomes  incar- 
nate as  our  Elder  Brother  ;  he  assumes  to  himself,  out 
of  a  woman's  flesh  and  blood,  a  perfect  human  nature, 
begotten  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  by  thus  uniting  it 
with  his  own  divinity  in  one  person,  not  only  sustains 
the  humanity  under  all  the  suffering  of  imputed  guilt, 
but  presents  a  surety  of  infinitely  sufficient  worth  to 
represent  all  the  redeemed.  Therefore,  was  "  laid  upon 
him  the  iniquity  of  us  all ; "  therefore,  did  it  please 
the  Father  to  bruise  him,  and  put  him  to  grief;  there- 
fore, did  he  forever  "  put  away  sin  by  the  one  sacrifice 
of  himself,"  and  by  that  "  one  offering  perfect  forever 
them  that  are  sanctified."  Our  sufferings  on  account 
of  sin  would  have  been  everlasting,  because  no  suffer- 
ings of  ours  could  ever  have  satisfied  the  penalty  due 
to  the  sinner  ;  but  such  is  the  incalculable  merit  of 
our  Surety's  sufferings  for  us,  that  in  a  portion  of  three 
days,  the  law  was  fully  vindicated,  and  the  whole 
Church  absolved.  Adam  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
God,  so  far  as  a  creature  could  reflect  the  likeness  of 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  133 

the  Creator,  yet  was  he  sustained  only  by  a  creature's 
strength,  and  he  fell ;  but  in  our  Second  Adam  dwelt 
"  the  Lord  from  heaven,"  the  Son  of  God  himself;  the 
first  Adam  was  made  "  a  living  soul ; "  the  Second 
Adam  is  a  quickening  Spirit,  for  in  him  is  not  only  a 
hfe  derived,  but  he  is  the  Life-giver.  Therefore  did  he, 
"  through  death,  destroy  him  that  hath  the  power  of 
death,"  and  become  the  Author  of  eternal  salvation 
nnto  all  them  that  obey  him." 

2.  Our  Mediator  must  also  be  "  very  God  in  one  per- 
son with  his  human  nature,"  that  "  he  might  obtain  for 
and  i-estore  to  us  righteousness  and  life." 

Here  are  two  offices  of  the  Mediator  for  which  his 
Divinity  is  necessary  :  — 

The  obtaining  for  us  righteousness  and  life  ;  and  the 
restoring  of  righteousness  and  life  to  us. 

A.  The  obtaining  for  us  righteousness  and  life. 

It  is  the  part  of  the  Mediator  to  act  for  us  with  God, 
and,  therefore,  is  it  requisite  not  only  that  a  sufficient 
satisfaction  be  made  to  the  law  under  which  we  are 
condemned,  but  that  such  satisfaction  be  duly  presented 
and  pleaded  before  God  ;  and  our  justification,  with  its 
consequence,  our  readmission  to  the  divine  favor,  ac- 
knowledged and  secured.  This  justification  and  divine 
favor  are  meant  by  the  terms  "  righteousness  and  life," 
used  by  the  Catechism  ;  for,  according  to  the  method 
of  grace,  the  sinner  who  believes  is  not  personally,  that 
is,  through  his  own  merit,  righteous,  but  considered 
and  treated  as  righteous  or  justified  solely  on  account 
of  the  satisfaction  rendered  to  the  law  for  him  by  his 
substitute  ;  and  the  favor  of  God,  which  is  life,  goes 
out  to  him  again  only  through  his  substitute,  with 
whom,  as  the  atoning  representative  of  the  sinner,  God 


134  QUALITIES   OF   THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VL 

is  well   pleased.     Is  it  not,  then,  clear  that  only  he, 
who  could  make  the  satisfaction,  can  plead  its  merit 
before   God  and    claim   its  reward  ?     Who  less    than 
divine   can    thus    speak   Avith   God  ?     Who   less   than 
divine  can  take  into  his  grasp  such  great  blessing  as 
life  for  all  the  host  of  the  redeemed  ?     If  nothino;  less 
than  divine  strength  could  sustain  the  humanity  of  our 
surety  under  the  wrath   due  to  his  people,  an  equal 
capacity  is  needed  to  contain  the  immensity  of  favor 
vouchsafed  by  the  love  of  the  reconciled  Father  to  all 
his  ransomed  family.     So  reasons  the  Apostle  of  our 
glorious  Mediator :  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in 
him  should  all  fulness  dwell ;  and  having  made  peace 
throuo-h  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all 
things  unto  himself;  "  and  again  :   "  For  in  him  dwell- 
eth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.    And  ye  (all 
believers)  are  complete  in  him,  which  is  the  head  of  all 
principality  and  power."    And  in  the  same  strain,  John 
the  Baptist   testified   of  our   Lord  :     "  Of  his   fulness 
have  all  we  received  and  grace  for  grace."     All  the 
grace  we  need  we  receive  of  Christ ;  therefore  all  ful- 
ness dwells  in  Christ,  and  that  he  might  contain  all 
this  fulness,  in  him  dwells  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  divine  nature  should  sustain 
the  humanity  of  the  substitute,  in  the  work  of  atone- 
ment ;  so  it  is  necessary  that   after   the   merit  of  the 
work  is  provided,  the  divine  nature  should  quality  the 
Mediator  to  obtain  and  receive  by  his  intercession  eter- 
nal redemption  for  us. 

B.  The  restoring  of  righteousness  and  life  to  us. 

It  is  the  part  of  the  Mediator  to  act  for  God  with  us  ; 
therefore  is  it  requisite  that  not  only  the  justification 
of  the  sinner,  and  the  consequent  life  be  obtained  for 


Lect.  VI.]  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  135 

US,  but,  also,  that  those  benefits  be  actually  conferred, 
and  we  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  we  have  lost 
through  sin.  Who  less  than  God  can  accomplish  this 
in  us  ?  Who  can  justify  where  God  has  condemned, 
but  God  himself?  Who  can  give  life  back,  but  the 
Lord  of  life  ?  Who  less  than  God  can  visit  the  hearts 
of  all  the  Church,  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit  incline  them 
all  to  receive  by  faith  the  pardon  God  extends,  and 
strengthen  them  all  for  the  new  obedience  which  God 
requires  ?  If  our  Mediator  be  not  divine,  how  can  he 
be  omnipresent  to  hear  every  prayer  of  each  one  of  all 
his  people  ;  omniscient,  to  know  their  every  thought 
and  every  need ;  omnipotent,  to  sustain  them  all  against 
every  temptation,  under  every  duty,  amidst  sorrows 
innumerable,  and  throughout  time  to  a  glorious  eter- 
nity ?  God  adopts  the  penitents,  but  it  is  Christ  who 
"gives  power  to  as  many  as  believe,"  to  become  the 
sons  of  God  ;  "  God  strengthens  them  with  all  might, 
but  it  is  through  Christ  strengthening  him  that  the 
believer  can  do  all  things  ;  God  assures  comfort,  but 
the  comfort  reaches  us  only  through  him,  who,  having 
been  the  man  of  sorrows,  is  now  the  Lord  of  joy  ;  God 
has  prepared  unspeakable  glories  for  them  that  love 
him,  and  they  are  kept  by  his  power  unto  salvation  ; 
but  Christ  who  is  the  Author,  is  also  the  Finisher  of 
their  faith,  and  when  they  enter  the  full  blessedness  of 
heaven,  it  is  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord.  Christ  is  the 
beginning,  Christ  the  continuance,  Christ  the  end  ; 
Christ  first,  Christ  always,  Christ  last,  Christ  all  in  all. 
He  is  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  ;  no  man 
cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  him.  Who  but  the 
Son  of  God,  can  lie  in  the  bosom  of  God  ?  From  that 
bosom  he  came  to  be  our  Surety  in  human  flesh ;  to 


136  QUALITIES   OF  THE  MEDIATOR.  [Lect.  VI. 

that  bosom  lie  has  returned,  but  with  our  flesh  about 
him,  to  be  our  ever  prevalent  Advocate,  and  the  accom- 
plisher  of  our  redemption  ;  for  where  he  is  glorified, 
our  humanity  is  glorified  ;  and  where  the  Son  of  God 
dwells,  there  dwells  his  body  the  Church,  the  fulness 
of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 


LECTURE  VII. 
THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 


SIXTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR. 

TTAVING  ascertained  the  qualities  necessary  to  a 
-*-^  sufficient  substitute  or  mediator  for  us  with  God. 
viz :  That  he  be  very  man  and  very  God  in  one  per- 
son ;  we  come  to  consider  :  — 

Fourthly  :  The  provision  of  such  a  substitute  or 
mediator  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christy  as  we  learn  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

"  TF7to,  then,''''  asks  the  18th  Question,  "  is  that 
mediator,  that  in  one  person  is  both  very  Crod  and  real 
righteous  7nan  ?  " 

Ans.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  who  of  God  is  made 
unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption." 

"  Wheiice  knoivest  thou  this  ? "  demands  the  Cate- 
chism, (Quest.  19th.) 

Ans.  "  From  the  Holy  Gospel,  which  God  himself 
revealed  first  in  Paradise,  and  afterwards  published  by 
the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  was  pleased  to  repre- 
sent it  by  the  shadows  of  sacrifices,  and  the  other  cere- 
monies of  the  law  ;  and,  lastly,  has  accomplished  it 
by  his  only  begotten  Son." 

The  order  in  which  these  questions  and  answers 
occur  is  the  most  natural  for  the  purpose  of  the  Cate- 
chism ;  but  for  convenience  of  exposition  we  shall 
invert  it,*  and  mark  :  — 

*  This  Ursinus  himself  is  forced  to  do.    d.  128.  Lond.  fol.  1033. 


140  THE  PROVISION   OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VII. 

I.  The  Fact  of  divine  testimony  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  our  Mediator  (Quest,  and  Ans.  19th)  ;  and, 
II.  The  Substance  of  that  testimony  concerning  him, 
(18th.) 

I.  The  Fact  of  divine  testimony  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  our  Mediator. 

"  Whence  knowest  thou  thy  misery  ?  "  asked  the 
Catechism,  M^hen  opening  to  us  our  ruin  through  sin  ; 
and  the  answer  given  to  us  was  :  "  Out  of  the  law  of 
God."  From  God  only  do  we  know  our  duty,  our  wick- 
edness, and  our  condemnation  ;  so,  from  God  only,  can 
we  learn  the  way  of  escape  from  guilt,  and  return  to 
life.  The  revelation  of  such  a  merciful  deliverance  is, 
indeed,  as  it  was  called  by  the  heavenly  Messenger  to 
the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem,  "  glad  tidings  of  great 
joy  ;  "  which  is  more  briefly  expressed  by  our  one 
Saxon  Avord,  Gospel,  a  contraction  of  goodspell,  corre- 
sponding to  the  Greek,  Evangel.  This  "  glorious  "  and 
delightful  term  "  Gospel,"  our  Catechism  applies  to  the 
whole  doctrine  of  salvation  as  taught  throughout  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  ;  for  which 
there  is  the  highest  authority.  The  word  Gospel,  it  is 
true,  does  not  occur  in  our  English  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  but  its  synonyms  are  frequent  there, 
and,  in  citations  from  the  former  Scriptures  by  the  New 
Testament  writers,  it  is  freely  employed  :  "  Search  the 
Scriptures,"  that  is,  of  the  Old  Testament  which  only 
then  were  wi'itten,  said  our  Lord  to  the  skeptical  Jews, 
"  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  ;  and  they  are 
they  which  testify  of  me."  So,  also,  in  his  memo- 
rable walk  with  the  two  disciples  to  Emmaus,  he  said : 
"  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken  !     Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suf- 


Lect.  VII.]      THE  PROVISIOX  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  141 

fered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?  And, 
beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures,  the  things  concerning 
himself."  From  these  and  many  other  texts,  we  learn, 
that  the  main  purpose  of  all  Scripture  is  to  teach  the 
doctrine  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  whatever  we 
find  in  them  is  contributive  to  the  great  theme. 

A.  "  God  himself  revealed  it  first  in  Paradise." 
There,  after  their  fall  and  before  their  expulsion  from 
Eden,  God  himself,  in  the  hearing  of  our  first  parents, 
said  to  the  serpent-tempter  :  "  I  will  put  enmity 
between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 
and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head  and  thou  shalt 
bruise  his  heel."  Christ,  the  son  of  a  virgin,  came 
emphatically  as  the  seed  of  the  woman  ;  between  him 
and  "  the  old  serpent  the  devil,"  there  was  battle  to 
extremity  ;  and  though  in  the  desperate  struggle  our 
Champion  was  sorely  wounded,  he  crushed  the  head 
of  our  foe,  "  destroying  death  and  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death."  Hence  this  prophecy,  that  the  seed 
of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent, 
is  properly  regarded  as  the  first  promise  and  proclama- 
tion of  the  Gospel. 

B.  The  sacrifice  by  Abel  of  the  firstlings  of  his 
flock,  the  life  of  lambs  substituted  in  typical  expiation 
of  sin,  shows  that  he  apprehended  the  future  sacrifice 
of  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world,"  for  us,  and  told  that  in  so  doing  he  acted 
"  by  faith,"  and  faith  supposes  a  revelation  of  promise. 
The  offering  of  the  sacrifice  was  itself  a  publication  of 
the  Gospel  by  Abel,  and  so  we  find  our  Lord  naming 
him  as  the  first  of  the  prophets,  when,  speaking  of  the 
prophets  slain  by  wicked  men  he  says  :  "  The  blood  of 


142  THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VII. 

all  the  prophets  ....  from  the  blood  of  Abel  to  the 
blood  of  Zacharias  which  perished  between  the  altar 
and  the  temple." 

The  publication  of  the  Gospel  thus  begun  was, 
doubtless,  continued  by  the  patriarchs  until  the  flood, 
though  the  record  of  their  preaching  and  the  range  of 
it  is  but  indistinct ;  for  Jude  speaks  of  Enoch  proph- 
esying concerning  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  and  Peter 
expressly  calls  Noah  "  a  preacher  of  righteousness," 
and  that  Christ  preached  by  him  "  while  the  ark  was 
a  preparing,"  (2  Peter  ii.  5  ;  1  Peter  iii.  19,  20.) 
So  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  asserts  plainly 
that  God  preached  the  Gospel  unto  Abraham,  saying  : 
"  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed  ;"  which  revelation 
was  repeated  unto  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  by  them  all,  and 
many  of  their  distinguished  descendants,  "  published  " 
to  the  house  of  Israel. 

The  strain  was  taken  up,  and  the  publication  con- 
tinued, by  prophet  after  prophet ;  their  intimations 
becomino;  clearer  and  clearer,  like  the  briohtenino; 
dawn,  until  Jesus,  of  whom  Moses  and  all  of  them  did 
write,  himself  appeared,  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
"  with  healing  in  his  wings."  Respecting  this  succes- 
sive and  unanimously  concurrent  testimony,  the  Apostle 
Peter  has  this  remarkable  language :  "  Of  which  sal- 
vation the  prophets  have  inquired  and  searched  dili- 
gently, who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come 
unto  you  ;  searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it 
testified  beforehand  the  sufferino's  of  Christ  and  the 
glory  that  should  follow.  Unto  Avhom  it  was  revealed, 
that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  us  they  did  minis- 
ter the  things,  Avhich  are  now  reported  unto  you  by 


Lect.  VII.]      THE  PROVISION   OF  A   MEDIATOR.  143 

them  that  have  preached  the  Gospel  unto  you  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven." 

G.  Nay,  such   was  the   condescending   goodness    of 
God,  that,  not  content  with   "  revealing  it  "   himself, 
"first    in    Paradise,"   and    "afterwards   publishing  it 
by  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,"  he  "  was  pleased  to 
represent   it   by  the  shadows  of  sacrifices    and    other 
ceremonies  of  the  law."     Under  the  former  dispensa 
tion,  the    enlightening  influences    of  the  Holy  Ghost 
were  not   granted   so  abundantly   as    they  are  to  us 
under  this  which  is  emphatically  "  the  ministration  of 
the    Spirit ; "  and    our   heavenly  Father    assisted    the 
faith    of  his    people    by  sensible    signs    and  emblems. 
Such  were  the  sacrifices  of  living  victims  taught  to  the 
worshipper,  as  we  have  seen,  near  the  gates  of  Para- 
dise ;  the  translation  of  Enoch,  a  testimony  of  God  to 
the  righteousness  of  faith ;    the  ark  of  Noah,  an  elo- 
quent emblem  of  the  covenant  within  which  the  Church 
is  safe  amidst  the  ruin  of  ungodly  men  ;  the  rescue  of 
Isaac,  the  son  of  promise,  from  the  death  for  which,  at 
the  command  of  God,  the  father  of  the'  faithful  had 
prepared  him ;  the  wrestling  of  Jacob  with  the  Angel 
of  the  Covenant,  until  he  obtained  from  the  present  Son 
of  God  the   blessing  he    desired  ;    the  deliverance  of 
Israel    from   the   destruction   of  Egypt    by  the    blood 
of  the  Paschal  lamb.     But,  after  the  formal  constitu- 
tion of  the  pilgrim  tribes   at   the  foot  of  Sinai,  as  a 
church  or  congregation  of  worshippers,  God  appointed 
the  law  of  ordinances,  that  by  a  regular  and  complete 
system  of  types  or  shadows  (so    called  because  pre- 
cursing  the  substance  that  was  to  come)  all  the  great 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  might  be  presented  distinctly  to 
the  eyes  of  the  people.     All  these  representative  cere- 


144  THE   PROVISION   OF   A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VII. 

monies  typified  Christ.  Every  service  and  every  officer 
of  tliat  law  pointed  forward  to  Christ  and  his  offices 
for  us.  The  sheddino;  of  blood,  the  burning  of  tlie 
victims,  the  sending  of  the  scape-goat  with  the  sins  of 
the  people  into  the  wilderness ;  the  purification  of  the 
sinner  by  the  hyssop  branch  sprinkling  the  sacrificial 
blood  upon  him  ;  the  shew-bread,  the  lights  of  the 
sanctuary,  the  offering  of  incense,  the  Visible  Glory 
resting  on  the  ark  of  the  testimony  ;  the  ark  itself 
with  its  propitiatory  and  the  memorials  which  the  pro- 
pitiatory covered ;  the  officiating  priesthood,  especially 
the  high-priest,  with  the  sanctifying  mitre  on  his  head, 
the  mystical  Urim  and  Thummim  on  his  breast  and  his 
robes  of  ceremony ;  the  intercession  of  the  high-priest 
once  a  year  within  the  veil  and  tlie  blessing  which 
followed  it ;  all  represented  and  preaclied  Christ  and 
his  Gospel,  the  provision  made  for  our  need,  and  the 
glory  consequent  upon  the  grace.  All  declared  the 
necessity  and  appointment  of  a  Mediator  for  us,  the 
substitution  of  his  person  to  bear  the  wrath  of  God  on 
our  behalf,  liis  acceptableness  with  God  and  his  inter- 
cession, which  the  Father  heareth  always,  and  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  through  him.  The  ceremonial  law 
was,  in  fact,  the  Gospel  of  the  Old  Testament. 

D.  All  these  promises,  publications,  prophecies,  cere- 
monies, and  officers  had  their  anti-type  or  reality  in 
Christ.  By  his  incarnation,  his  anointing  from  the 
Holy  Ghost,  by  his  life  of  obedience,  his  bitter  sorrows, 
his  unspeakable  agony,  his  death  in  darkness  on  the 
cross  accursed  of  God,  his  burial,  his  uprising  from  the 
dead,  his  ascension  to  heaven,  his  session  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  his  pleading  for  us  there  as  our 
Advocate,  and  the  outpouring   of  the   Holy  Spirit  in 


Lect.  VII.]        THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  145 

answer  to  his  prayers,  he  has  accomplished  the  truth  of 
his  Gospel  and  made  clear  as  the  light  of  day  the  doc- 
trines dimly  perceptible  amidst  the  shadows  of  the  law. 
"  The  law  was  given  by  Moses," —  the  moral  law  which 
brings  condemnation,  and  the  ceremonial  law,  which 
shadowed  forth  the  promises  of  life  ;  "  "  but  grace  and 
truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ  " — grace^  deliverance  from 
the  condemnation  of  the  moral  law,  truths  the  reality 
or  actual  fulfilment  of  the  things  before  shadowed  by 
the  types  of  the  ceremonial  law. 

It  is,  therefore,  to  this  Gospel,  the  revelation  of  God 
concerning  Jesus  Christ,  the  foretellings  and  prefigur- 
ations  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  the  histories  and 
doctrinal  expositions  of  the  New,  that  we  go  for  knowl- 
edge of  the  Mediator  ;  our  faith  is  built  on  the  founda- 
tion of  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  the  chief  corner-stone."  The  truth  on  which 
we  of  the  Reformed  Churches  rely  is  the  word  of  God, 
the  whole  word  of  God,  and  the  word  of  God  alone. 
Nothing  short  of  divine  testimony  do  we  credit ;  all 
that  is  supported  by  divine  testimony  do  we  believe  ; 
whatever  has  not  the  divine  testimony  we  reject. 
From  God  alone  we  can  derive  our  religious  creed,  for 
he  is  the  object  of  all  worship  ;  from  him  alone  our 
rules  of  moral  practice,  for  he  is  the  object  of  all 
duty. 

II.  The  substance  of  the  divine  testimony  concerning 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  our  Mediator.  This  is  given 
in  the  answer  to  the  18th  Question,  which  has  two 
parts  —  the  first:  a  recital  of  the  three  principal  names 
designating  our  Mediator ;  the  second  :  a  comprehen- 
sive catalogue  of  the  blessings  which  we  have  in  him. 

A.  Our  Mediator  is  "  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     Of 

VOL.   I.  10 


146  THE  PROVISION   OF  A  MEDIATOR.       [Lect.  VII. 

these  names  we  shall  be  required  to  treat  fully  in  expound- 
ing the  lessons  of  the  Eleventh,  Twelfth,  and  Thirteenth 
Lord's  Days,  and  need  now  note  only  a  few  things. 

a.  He  is  our  Itord.  This  is  an  epithet  of  authority 
and  power,  which  belongs  to  him  by  delegated  right  as 
appointed  by  the  Father,  in  the  plan  of  redemption,  to 
rule  over  the  Church  and  over  all  things  for  the  sake 
of  the  Church  ;  and  throughout  the  New  Testament 
(with  but  two  or  three  not  contradictory  exceptions) 
it  is  applied  exclusively  to  him  as  the  Son  of  God 
incarnate,  the  Saviour.  "  Unto  you,"  said  the  angel 
to  the  shepherds,  "  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of 
David  a  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the  Lord ;  "  and  the 
Apostle  to  the  Romans  :  "  For  to  this  end  Christ  both 
died  and  rose  and  revived,  that  he  might  be  Lord  both 
of  the  dead  and  the  living."  From  which,  and  many 
other  passages,  we  see  that  he  is  called  Lord,  not 
merely  in  virtue  of  his  original  divinity  as  the  Second 
Person  of  the  Godhead,  (Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and 
to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost !)  but  with  special 
reference  to  his  mediatorial  character ;  nay,  tluit  it 
was  bestowed  upon  him  in  reward  of  his  mediatorial 
obedience.  "  All  power,"  said  he  himself  after  his 
resurrection,  "  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth  ;  "  and  the  Apostle  to  the  Philippians  testifies  of 
the  Immanuel :  "  Being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  uuto  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore  God  also  hath 
highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  (or  office) 
which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus 
every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things 
in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the 


Lect.  VII.]       THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  147 

glory  of  God  the  Father."  Yet  does  the  delegation 
of  such  authority  to  him  as  the  Saviour  prove  his 
divinity.  To  what  mere  creature  could  God  the 
Father  commit  a  viceroyship  so  great?  Who,  less 
than  divine,  could  comprehend  the  divine  counsels  for 
tlie  government  of  the  Church  ?  Who,  less  than  divine, 
could  sustain  the  weight  of  all  power  over  all  things  in 
heaven,  earth,  and  hell  ?  Who,  less  than  divine,  could 
receive  the  homage  of  "  every  knee  "  and  the  ascrip- 
tions of  "every  tongue,"  as  the  "  Lord,"  "  whose  right 
it  is  to  reio;n  ?  " 

h.  "  Our  Lord  Testis.''^  This  is  the  name  which  was 
given  to  him  by  the  angel  "  before  he  was  conceived  in 
the  womb,"  and  when  the  announcement  was  made  to 
the  virgin  that  she  should  bring  forth  a  son.  It  may 
be,  therefore,  considered  as  more  peculiarly  his  human 
name,  the  name  by  which  he  was  called  by  his  mother 
and  kindred  and  acquaintances.  So  Peter,  preaching 
to  the  mixed  multitude,  says :  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a 
man  approved  of  God  among  you  ; "  and  Paul  to  Tim- 
othy :  "  There  is  one  mediator  between  God  and  men, 
the  man  Christ  Jesus."  But  the  name  was  given  to 
him  because  of  its  peculiar  significance :  "  Thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins."  The  word  is  an  imitation  of  the  Hebrew 
name  Joshua,  which  means  a  saviour,  or  one  who  makes 
safe.  As  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  having  succeeded 
Moses  by  the  command  of  God,  led  the  tribes  in  safety 
to  a  triumphant  possession  of  the  promised  land ;  so 
does  our  Jesus  deliver  his  brethren  of  the  true  Israel, 
from  the  power  of  their  sins,  their  worst  enemies,  and 
bring  them  through  all  difficulties  to  the  secure  enjoy- 
ment of  their  heavenly  rest.     For  this  he  unites  to  his 


148  THE  PltOVISION   OF  A  MEDIATOR.        [Legt.  VII. 

infinitely  divine  attributes,  the  experience  and  full  sense 
of  our  humanity,  assuring  us  of  his  sympathy,  and  en- 
couraging us  by  his  power. 

c.  "  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ.''''  This  is  a  verbal  noun 
from  a  word  signifying  to  anoint,  —  anointing  with  oil  in 
solemn  ceremony  being  the  method  by  which  prophets, 
priests,  and  kings  were  consecrated  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. It  is  properly  neither  a  personal  name,  nor  a  title 
descriptive  of  office,  but  being  added  to  Lord  Jesus,  de- 
clai'es  that  he  has  been  appointed  and  confirmed  by  God 
as  the  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  of  his  Church.  "  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  for  he  hath  anointed 
me,"  is  the  language  which  was  prophetically  put  into 
the  mouth  of  our  Lord  ;  and,  accordingly,  we  read  in 
the  Gospel  that  "  Jesus,  being  baptized  (by  John),  and 
})raying,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
descended  in  a  bodily  shape  like  a  dove  upon  him,  and 
a  voice  came  from  heaven,  which  said:  '  Thou  art  my 
beloved  Son  ;  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased.'  "  This  unction 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the  inauguration  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  to  his  mediatorial  office,  by  God  the  Father. 
Hence,  because  of  his  infinite  preeminence  as  an  office- 
bearer by  divine  appointment,  he  is  called  emphatically 
"  the  Christ,"  or  "  the  Messiah,"  which  is  the  Hebrew 
synonym.  The  doctrine  which  we  should  derive  from 
the  word  Christ,  as  applied  to  our  Lord  Jesus,  is,  that 
the  efficiency  of  our  (Saviour's  atonement  depended  not 
merely  upon  the  dignity  of  his  person,  or  the  infinite 
merit  of  his  work,  but  also  on  the  fact  of  his  having 
been  called  and  set  apart  to  his  mediatorial  office  by 
God  himself  In  the  appointment  of  God  the  Son,  by 
God  the  Father,  and  his  anointment  by  God  the  Holy 
Ghost,  we  see  the  three  Persons  of  the  Godhead  united 
as  the  God  of  our  redemption. 


Lect.  VII.]       THE  PROVISION   OF  A  MEDIATOR.  149 

B.  The  Catechism  adds  a  comprehensive  catalogue 
of  the  blessings  which  we  have  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
taken  from  1  Cor.  i.  30 :  "  Of  him  (that  is,  by  the 
o-racious  will  of  God),  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  who  of 
God  (that  is,  by  appointment  of  God)  is  made  unto  us 
wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption ;"  to  which  the  Apostle  adds:  "  that,  accord- 
ing as  it  is  written,  he  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in 
the  Lord  ;  "  the  term  "  Lord,"  in  this  latter  verse,  with 
"  Christ  Jesus  "  in  the  former,  making  the  triple  appel- 
lation by  which  we  acknowledge  and  adore  the  Imman- 
uel  as  our  Saviour,  "  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
faith." 

a.  He  is  "  made  unto  us  wisdom."  He  is  the  wis- 
dom of  God  unto  our  salvation,  because  it  was  infinite 
wisdom  which  provided  the  method  of  our  justification  ; 
and  the  doctrine  of  Christ  is  the  sum  of  all  divine  truth, 
through  which  God  makes  himself  known  as  our  God. 
He  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  because  by  his  Holy  Spirit 
the  writers  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were  moved 
to  prepare  that  only  and  sufficient  treasury  of  divine 
truth  for  our  learning,  comfort,  patience,  and  hope; 
and  because,  by  the  power  of  that  same  spirit  within 
us,  we  are  enlightened  to  understand  the  truth,  convert- 
ed to  love  the  truth,  and  strengthened  to  obey  the  truth. 

All  the  knowledge  which  the  Christian  needs  must 
come  to  him  through  Christ  the  Mediator,  as  the  Apos- 
tle says :  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners,  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his 
Son  ;  "  and  ao-ain :  "  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts  to  give 
the  lio-ht  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the 


150  THE  PROVISION   OF  A  MEDIATOR.        [Lect.  VII. 

face   of  Jesus   Christ."     By  Christ  the   Mediator,  we 
have  infinite  wisdom  speaking  to  us  with  human  lips. 

b.  "And  righteousness."  We  have  nothing;  of  our  own 
that  is  fit  to  appear  before  him,  but,  covered  with  sin, 
we  could  not  stand  in  his  presence  ;  and  all  the  merit 
of  his  expiatory  death  and  obedient  life  is  freely  im- 
puted to  the  believer  as  the  perfectly  sufficient  ground 
of  his  justification ;  and,  clothed  in  Christ's  righteous- 
ness, he  is  accepted  as  a  penitent  and  adopted  as  a  child 
by  the  reconciled  Father. 

c.  "  And  sanctification."  The  blessing  of  sanctifi- 
cation  is  inseparable  from  the  grace  of  justification. 
"  Jesus  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins."  It  is  the 
power  of  his  Holy  Spirit  applying  to  our  hearts  the  doc- 
trine of  his  atoning  and  interceding  love,  which  trans- 
forms our  dispositions  from  enmity  to  the  love  of  God, 
purifies  our  affections  from  the  contaminating  grossness 
of  the  flesh,  and  supplies  to  our  faith  those  superior 
motives  which  successfully  oppose  the  temptations  of 
the  world.  This  renovating  change  is  gradual,  and 
never  complete  in  this  world,  but  it  is  begun  with  faith, 
as  the  Evangelist  says  :  "  To  as  many  as  received  him 
....  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even 
to  them  that  believe  on  his  name."  But  the  full  per- 
fection of  his  people  is  secured,  for  — 

d.  "  He  is  made  unto  us  ...  .  redemption."  Re- 
demption most  often,  and  certainly  when  following 
sanctification,  signifies  the  full  and  accomplished  salva- 
tion of  the  believer,  both  body  and  soul ;  his  entire 
deliverance  from  sin  and  guilt  and  death  ;  and  his  res- 
toration complete  to  the  favor,  and  presence,  and  enjoy- 
ment of  God  forever.  This  Christ  undertakes,  and  this 
ne   will    perform.     "  He  is  able  to  save  even  to  the 


Lect.  VII.]       THE  PROVISION  OF  A  MEDIATOR.  151 

uttermost "  extremity  of  this  life,  all  that  come  unto 
God  by  him.  He  is  the  Forerunner,  who  for  us  has 
entered  and  taken  possession  of  heaven,  the  second  Par- 
adise; he  is  the  Resurrection  and  Life,  and  all  who 
believe  in  him,  though  they  die,  shall  live ;  he  is  our 
life  himself,  and  wherever  he  is  formed  in  the  heart, 
there  he  is  the  hope,  the  earnest,  and  the  beginning  of 
heavenly,  immortal  glory.  He  is  all  our  wisdom,  all 
our  righteousness,  all  our  sanctification  ;  our  all  in  all. 
Who  then  can  pluck  his  people  out  of  those  pierced 
hands  by  which  he  holds  them  with  an  almighty  love  ! 
They  are  his  own,  purchased  by  his  blood  ;  his  own, 
the  travail  of  his  soul ;  his  own,  the  trophies  of  his 
grace  ;  and  will  he  suffer  himself  to  be  robbed  of  his 
own  ?  Beloved  Master,  our  Elder  Brother,  Jehovah- 
Jesus,  Lord  our  Righteousness,  —  thou  art  "  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life  !  " 

Lessons. 

First :  Let  us  trust  in  Christ  alone,  fully,  to  the 
end ;  for  pardon,  for  strength,  for  glory. 

Secondly :  Let  us  rely  upon  his  word  ;  for  guidance, 
for  instruction,  for  encouragement. 

Thirdly :  Let  us  live  near  to  him,  by  prayer,  by  com- 
munion, by  close  following  of  his  example. 


LECTURE  VIII. 


SAVING  FAITH. 


SEVENTH  LOED'S  DAY. 

SAVING    FAITH. 

Quest.  XX.  Are  all  men,  then,  as  Uiey  perished  in  Adam,  saved  by  Christ  f 

Ans.  No;  only  those  who  are  ingrafted  into  him,  and  receive  all  his 
benefits  by  a  true  faith. 

Quest.  XXI.    What  is  true  faith  f 

Ans.  True  faith  is  not  only  a  certain  knowledge,  whereby  I  hold  for 
truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  his  word,  but  also  an  assured 
confidence,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  the  Gospel  in  my  heart, 
th:it,  not  only  unto  others,  but  to  me  also,  remission  of  sin,  everlasting 
righteousness  and  salvation,  are  freely  given  by  God,  merely  of  grace, 
onh'  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  merits. 

Quest.  XXII.     What  is,  then,  necessary  for  a  Christian  to  believe  'i 

Ans.  All  things  promised  us  in  the  Gospel;  which  the  Articles  of  our 
Catholic,  undoubted  Christian  faith  briefly  teach  us. 

Quest.  XXIII.     What  are  those  Articles  ? 

1.  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  maker  of  heaven  and  earth ; 

2.  And  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten  Son  our  Lord; 

3.  Who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary; 

4.  Suffered  under  Pontius   Pilate,    was   crucified,  dead   and  buried;  He 

descended  into  hell ; 

5.  The  third  day  he  rose  again  from  the  dead; 

6.  He  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand   ;f  God  the 

Father  Almighty, 

7.  From  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 

8.  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost; 

9.  I  believe  in  a  holy  Catholic  Church;  the  communion  of  saints; 

10.  The  forgiveness  of  sins; 

11.  The  resuiTection  of  the  body; 

12.  And  the  life  everlasting.     Amen. 

TT  is  the  unspeakably  precious  privilege  of  the  Chris- 
-^  tian  preacher  to  declare  that  God  hath  no  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  hath 
himself  provided  by  Jesus  Christ,  his  only-begotten  Son, 
our  Lord  incarnate  as  the  seed  of  the  woman,  an  aton- 


156  SAVING  FAITH.  [Lect.  VIII. 

ing  righteousness  infinitely  sufficient  to  save  all  who  go 
unto  him  for  pardon  and  life.  This  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  do,  briefly,  in  discoursing  on  the  lessons  of  the 
Fifth  and  Sixth  Lord's  Days,  hoping  for  permission 
from  a  good  Providence  to  open  the  doctrines  of  re- 
demption more  fully  in  our  comments  on  several  arti- 
cles of  the  creed.  To-day,  the  Catechism  teaches  us 
how  we  must  go  unto  God  that  we  may  be  received  of 
him  in  mercy ;  and  the  lesson  before  us  shows :  — 

First  :   The  necessity  of  Faith  in  Christ. 

(20th  Question  and  Answer.) 

Secondly  :  The  nature  of  true  Faith. 

(21st  Question  and  Answer.) 

Thirdly  :  The  Articles  of  true  Christian  Faith. 

(22d  and  23d  Questions  and  Answers.) 

First  :   The  necessity  of  Faith  in  Christ. 

The  Catechism  having  taught  us  that  all  men,  being 
represented  in  Adam,  came  with  him  under  condemna- 
tion ;  and  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  perfect 
satisfaction  to  the  justice  of  God,  represented,  as  the 
second  Adam,  all  who  are  saved,  an  inquiry  natu- 
rally arises :  Is  the  representation  of  the  Mediator  com- 
mensurate with  that  of  our  first  parent  ?  i.  e.  "  Are  all 
men,  as  they  perished  in  Adam,  saved  by  Christ  ? " 
The  answer  given  is,  "  No  ;  "  Christ's  representation  is 
on  another  principle,  and  he  saves  "  only  those  who 
are  ingrafted  into  him  and  receive  all  his  benefits  by  a 
true  faith." 

I.  All  men  are  not  saved  by  Christ. 

The  Scriptures,  while  they  conclude  all  under  sin, 
and  set  forth  the  infinite  merits  of  the  atonement  pro- 
vided for  sinners,  declare  that  there  are  those  to  whom 
'he  benefits   of  the  atonement  are  not  applied. 

The  unregenerate  are  not  saved  : 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING   FAITH.  157 

"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;  "  said  our  Lord  to  Nicodemus. 

The  impenitent  are  not  saved  : 

"  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish ; " 
said  he  to  the  Jews. 

The  unbelievino;  are  not  saved  : 

"  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned  ;  "  said  he 
io  his  apostles,  when  sending  them  forth  to  preach  the 
rospel. 

The  wilfully  vicious  are  not  saved.  Throughout  the 
Scriptures,  liars,  adulterers,  drunkards,  thieves,  mur- 
derers, and  other  gross  criminals  are  denied  the  hope 
of  heaven. 

And,  that  there  will  be  found  such  unreclaimed 
transgressors  when  Christ  completes  his  mediatorial 
administration,  we  know  from  his  own  foreshowing  of 
the  final  judgment :  "  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
come  in  his  glory  ....  before  him  shall  be  gathered 
all  nations:  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from  another, 
as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats ;  and 
he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand  and  the  goats 
on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say  ixnto  them  on 
his  right  hand :  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit 
the  kingdom  pi'epared  for  you  from  the  foundation   of 

the  world Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them 

on  the  left  hand  :  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 
.  .  .  And  these  shall  go  aw^ay  into  everlasting  punishment, 
but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."    Matt.  xxv.  31—46. 

All  men,  therefore,  are  not  represented  in  Christ  the 
Saviour. 

II.  Those,  and  those  only,  are  saved,  "  who  are 
ingrafted  into  him,  and  receive  all  his  benefits  by  a 
true  faith." 


158  SAVING  FAITH.  [Lect.  VIII. 

1.  Tlie  representation  of  all  men  in  Adam  is  on  the 
principle  of  their  natural  descent  from  him,  as  the 
original  man,  and  progenitor  of  the  race.  Between  us 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there  is  no  such  natural  or 
necessary  connection.  By  his  humanity  he  is  our 
kinsman  or  brother,  hut  not  our  parent,  or,  of  birth- 
right, our  sponsor.  He  represents  his  people  of  his 
free  choice,  according  to  the  will  of  God  in  redemp- 
tion ;  his  people  accept  him  as  their  repi'esentative,  of 
their  free  choice,  according  to  the  same  divine  will. 
The  relation  is,  therefore,  not  original,  but  appointed ; 
not  necessary,  but  gracious  ;  not  natural,  but  spiritual ; 
ordained  to  deliver  those  whom  Chi'ist  represents,  from 
their  condemnation  with  Adam ;  yet  in  no  sense  violat- 
ing the  justice  which  demanded  the  condemnation,  but 
on  the  contrary,  rendering  a  full  satisfaction  to  the  law 
of  God  for  those  who  are  delivered.  In  a  word,  Christ 
takes  the  place  of  Adam,  to  supply  the  righteousness 
which  Adam  failed  to  render,  yet  not  on  behalf  of  all 
whom  Adam  represented,  but  on  behalf  of  those  whom 
he  represents  as  Redeemer.  If  this  difference  in  the 
representation  be  not  admitted,  it  must  follow  that  as 
all  men  fell  in  Adam,  all  men  are  saved  in  Christ,  which 
the  Scriptures  show  is  not  the  case  ;  wherefore,  when 
the  Scripture  says,  that  as  in  Adam  all  died,  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive ;  and  "  as  by  the  oflPence 
of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation  ; 
even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came 
upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life,"  we  must  under- 
stand the  Apostle  as  speaking  of  "  all  "  represented  in 
either;  in  Adam,  the  head  of  his  race,  in  Christ  the 
Head  of  his  Church,  which  is  his  body  and  "  his  ful- 
ness." 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING  FAITH.  159 

The  same  rule  of  interpretation  applies  to  many 
Scriptures,  whicli  the  superficial  or  heterodox  reader 
might  quote,  as  proving  that  most  inconsistent  doctrine 
of  universal  redemption.  It  should  also  be  remem- 
bered, that,  under  the  former  dispensation,  salvation 
seemed  confined  to  the  Jews,  whereas  now  it  is 
preached  to  all  people  ;  and  when  it  is  said  that  Christ 
is  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  it 
means  for  the  sins  of  all  (not  of  the  Jews  only  but  of 
all)  nations, —  or  of  all  those  in  every  nation  who 
believe.  Faith  must  always  be  supposed,  for  "  he  that 
believeth  not  (Jew  or  Gentile)  shall  be  damned." 

2.  Such,  then,  being  the  character  of  the  relation, 
there  must  be  some  method  by  which  those  who  ar 
saved  are  brought  into  a  vital  union  with  their  repre- 
sentative, that  they  may  receive  the  advantage  of  his 
mediation  for  them.  This  link,  or  bond,  or  method  of 
the  sinner's  connection  with  Christ,  the  Catechism, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  all  Scripture,  declares  to 
he  faith.  It  cannot  be  any  merit,  or  anything  that  has 
merit,  of  our  own  ;  because  the  representation  of  Christ 
presupposes  that  we  are  utterly  guilty,  and  is  intended 
to  provide  for  us  righteousness  of  which  we  are  ourselves 
utterly  incapable  ;  and,  therefore,  it  must  be  some  purely 
gracious  process  by  which  we  are  made  Christ's,  and 
Christ  is  made  ours.  Life,  under  the  first  covenant, 
was  promised  on  a  condition :  "  Do  this  and  thou  shalt 
live."  Chi'ist,  the  second  Adam,  assumed  the  condition 
in  the  room  of  his  church,  and  by  his  perfect  righteous- 
ness purchased,  or  merited  for  them,  life.  Our  enjoy- 
ment of  that  life  can,  therefore,  depend  upon  no  condi- 
tion, but  is  simply  bestowment  on  Christ's  part,  and 
acceptance  on  ours.     All  this  the  answer  of  the  Cafe- , 


160  SAVING  FAITH.  [Lect.  VIII, 

cliisin  teaches  :  "  Only  those  (are  saved)  who  are  in- 
grafted into  Christ,  and  receive  all  his  benefits  by  a  true 
faith." 

Here  is  an  act  of  God  :  They  are  grafted  into  Christ 
by  faith  ;  and  an  acf^of  those  who  are  saved  :  "  They 
receive  all  his  benefits  by  a  true  faith."  God  brings 
them  into  this  union ;  they  receive  (embrace  or  lay  hold 
of,  is  a  better  translation)  all  the  benefits  flowing  from 
the  union.  The  act  of  God  is  fii'st,  for  he  is  the  giver ; 
the  act  of  the  sinner  follows,  for  he  is  the  receiver. 

The  fio-ure  of  ino-raftino;  is  taken  from  our  Lord's 
own  parable  of  The  Living  Vine  (John  xv.  1-8),  and 
the  Apostle  Paul's  of  The  Olive  Trees  (Rom.  xi.  17-21) ; 
but  it  is  familiar  to  our  own  observation,  and  delight- 
fully illustrative.  By  nature,  we  are  branches  of  a  con= 
demned  and  pernicious  vine,  bearing  only  evil  fruit, 
and  soon  to  be  cast  into  the  fire.  Of  ourselves,  we 
cannot  separate  ourselves  from  the  accursed  stem,  much 
less  make  ourselves  part  of  the  living  vine,  Christ  Jesus. 
God,  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  takes  us,  cuts  us  off  from  the 
ruined  vine,  and  grafts  us  into  the  stem  of  Christ ;  the 
vital  union  is  then  formed,  a  new  life  flows  into  the 
grafted  branch,  and  it  blossoms,  buds,  puts  forth  leaves, 
and  yields  good  fruit,  not  from  itself,  but  by  virtue  of  the 
life  it  derives  out  of  the  stem.  Christ  is  still  the  vine ; 
the  fruit  is  also  all  his,  but  he  makes  the  once  wild 
branch  a  part  of  himself,  and  so  makes  it  fruitful,  and 
himself  fruitful.  Or,  to  lay  aside  the  figure :  The  sin- 
ner is  joined  to  Christ  by  the  free  grace  of  God,  and 
derives  spiritual  life  from  Christ,  and  Christ  works  good 
works  through  him.  The  glory  is  Christ's,  the  bene- 
fits are  the  believer's. 

God,  we  have  said,  is  the  agent  in  the  grafting,  but 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING  FAITH.  161 

the  method  of  engraftment  which  he  uses  is  faith.  Do 
you  ask  how  this  may  be,  since  faith  is  the  act  of  tlic 
Christian?  We  answer:  Faith,  though  our  personal 
act,  is  not  of  our  own  strength,  but  is  the  effect  of  the 
Holy  Spirit's  regenerating  grace,  a^d  this  grace  comes 
to  us  from  God,  through  Christ.  Thus,  the  Heavenly 
Father  provides  in  the  Mediator  the  proper  object  of 
faith,  and  fills  him  with  the  Spirit  of  all  grace  ;  he  then 
briuos  the  sinner  nigh  to  the  Saviour  whom  he  has 
pierced,  and,  as  he  applies  the  sinner  to  the  bleeding 
side,  grace  flows  out  to  the  soul,  and  the  sinner,  feeling 
within  him  the  vivifying  power,  believes  and  clings  to 
his  embracing  Saviour.  Grace  from  the  Saviour's  side, 
and  grace  in  the  believer's  apprehending  soul,  unite  to 
bind  in  union  close  and  sweet  and  vital,  the  sinner 
saved,  to  the  Saviour  of  sinners.  From  that  moment 
he  becomes  one  with  Christ ;  all  the  benefits  which 
Christ,  as  his  representative,  has  obtained  for  him,  be- 
come his.  Christ  is,  "  of  God  made  unto  him,  wisdom 
and  righteousness  and  sanctification  and  redemption." 

3.  Do  you  ask  again  :  Why  faith  is  made  the  neces- 
sary method  of  union  ?  We  answer  briefly  now,  as  \\. 
shall  more  at  large  hereafter.  It  is  necessary  that  wo 
return  to  our  obedience  ;  and  the  great  command  of 
God  in  Christ  is :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."" 
It  is  uecessary  that  the  sinner  acknowledge  Christ  as 
his  representative,  and  faith  is  such  acknowledgment. 
It  is  necessary  that  the  sinner  should  apply  to  ChrJ 
for  his  acceptance,  and  faith  is  such  an  application.  It 
is  necessary  that  the  sinner  receive  the  benefits  of  sal- 
vation, and  faith  is  such  an  apprehending  or  laying  hold 
of  them.  It  is  necessary  that  there  be  a  channel  of 
communication  between  Christ,  the  fountain,  and  the 

YOI^.    I.  11 


162  SAVING    FAITH.  [Lect.  VIII. 

sinner's  soul,  and  faith  is  the  golden  conduit.  As  sal- 
xation  is  all  of  grace,  so  it  is  all  through  Christ ;  and  as 
it  is  all  through  Christ,  so  it  is  all  by  faith. 

How  important,  therefore,  that  our  faith  be  true  ! 
Let  us,  then,  learn  : 

Secondly  :    TJte  Nature  of  True  Faith. 

We  derive  whatever  knowledge  we  have  of  thinos 
beyond  our  immediate  consciousness,  either  through 
our  own  perceptions  or  from  the  testimony  of  others ; 
but,  as  both  our  range  and  power  of  personal  observa- 
tion are  very  limited,  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  our 
knowledge  is  communicated  to  us  by  others.  When 
such  testimony  is  brought  before  us,  w^e  exercise  our 
judgment  respecting  the  witnesses,  determining  whether 
they  can  be  relied  on  for  veracity  and  intelligence ; 
since  a  man  may  wish  to  state  the  truth,  yet  lack  suffi- 
cient good  sense  or  opportunity,  or  both,  to  know  what 
is  the  truth  ;  or  he  may  have  the  sense  and  the  infor- 
mation, 3^et  lack  honesty  of  purpose  ;  but,  when  we 
consider  him  entitled  to  credit,  we  believe  him,  and 
add  the  facts  which  he  states  to  our  knowledge.  Thus, 
I  am  certain  that  there  is  such  a  country  as  Japan, 
though  I  have  never  been  there ;  and  that  Alexander 
was  once  king  of  Macedon,  though  he  died  two  thou- 
sand years  ago.  This  belief,  or  holding  of  testimony 
to  be  true,  is  the  same  as  faith ;  faith  being  derived 
from  a  Latin  word  corresponding  to  our  Saxon  belief. 

When,  however,  the  testimony  respects  things  in 
which  we  are  personally  concerned,  and  our  belief  of 
it  is  full,  we  rely  upon  it  and  act  accordingly.  Thus, 
a  merchant  has  advices  from  a  correspondent  at  a  for- 
eign port,  that,  by  sending  there  a  cargo  of  certain 
commodities,  he  will  not  fail  to  realize  a  larger  profit 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING    FAITH.  163 

than  he  can  by  any  other  transaction  ;  and,  if  he  relies 
upon  the  testimony,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  make  tlie 
venture.  Without  such  reliance  upon  others,  how  nar- 
row would  be  the  sphere  of  commerce  !  Such  a  prac- 
tical reliance  is  the  same  as  confidence  in  testimony. 

Now,  the  Scriptures  contain  the  declarations  of  God 
respecting  all  things  which  concern  our  everlasting- 
welfare  ;  and  belief  of  God  as  the  infallible  witness, 
and  of  the  truths  revealed  in  his  testimony,  is  i\\Q  faith 
by  which  we  are  grafted  into  Christ  and  receive  all  liis 
benefits  as  our  Saviour.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  through  the  depraving  effect  of  sin 
iipon  our  minds  and  hearts,  we  are  unable,  without 
divine  grace,  either  rightly  to  understand,  or  duly  to 
appreciate,  spiritual  (that  is,  religious)  truths.  Hence 
the  Catechism,  in  the  21st  Question  and  Answer,  teaches 
us :  I.  The  several  essential  parts  of  genuine  faith  ; 
and,  II.  The  divine  source  from  which  such  faith  is 
derived. 

I.   The  several  essential  parts  of  genuine  faith. 

These  may  be  brought  under  three  heads :  Faith  in 
the  iviUiess ;  faith  in  the  testimony ;  faith  in  the  appli- 
cation of  the  testimony  to  ourselves. 

a.  Faith  in  the  witness.  The  witness  is  none 
other  than  God  himself.  The  first  act  of  religion  is  to 
believe  that  God  exists ;  and  to  believe  in  the  existence 
of  the  true  God,  is  to  believe  that  he  is  the  eternal, 
self-subsisting  Author  and  Sovereign  of  all  things, 
infinite  as  to  his  being,  wisdom,  power,  hohness,  justice, 
goodness,  and  truth.*  From  him  alone  can  come  a 
certain  knowledge  of  whatever  is  requisite  for  us  to 
know,  because  only  he  who  made  and  administers  all 

*  See  Westminster  Assembly's  Catechism. 


164  SAVING   FAITH.  [Lect.   VIII. 

things  can  know  them  aright ;  but  especially  is  it  nec- 
essary that  he  should  make  known  to  us  the  things  of 
religion,  because  he  is  the  only  and  supreme  Object  of 
all  religion,  and,  therefore,  has  alone  the  right  as  well 
as  the  knowledge  to  declare  what  is  essential  to  true 
religious  belief,  affection, .  and  practice.  It  is  utterly 
absurd  to  suppose  for  a  moment,  or  on  any  plea,  that 
any  man,  or  any  creature,  or  any  combination  of  crea- 
tures, can  be  authority  to  us  on  any  matter  between  us 
and  God  ;  for  were  we  to  receive  their  testimony,  it 
would  be  faith  in  creatures,  not  faith  in  God  ;  and  any 
practice  founded  on  such  testimony  would  be  obedience 
to  creatures,  not  obedience  to  God ;  and,  consequently, 
such  faith  and  obedience  would  not  be  any  part  of  true 
religion.  Whatever  faith  it  be  that  stops  short  of  God, 
is  false,  deceiving,  and  destructive.  Even  our  blessed 
Lord,  when  incarnate  as  the  servant-mediator,  claimed 
to  be  trusted  only  on  the  testimony  of  God  the  Father : 
"  If  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  testimony  is  not  true. 

There  is  another  that  beareth  witness  of  me 

But  I   receive  not  testimony   from  man And 

the  Father  himself,  which  hath  sent  me,  hath  borne 
witness  of  me."  And,  again,  of  God's  people,  "  It  is 
written  in  the  prophets  :  They  shall  be  all  taught  of 
God." 

While,  therefore,  we  utterly  reject  all  dictates  of 
human  reason  or  of  any  other  creature,  we  should  bow 
unhesitatingly  before  God  as  the  infinitely  true  and  suf- 
ficient Teacher  of  all  religion,  receiving  whatever  he 
declares  to  be  truth,  not  because  it  coincides  with  our 
reason,  or  because  it  has  the  stamp  of  ecclesiastical 
authority,  but  simply  because  it  is  the  declaration  of 
God.      Lav  this  at   the  foundation  of  your  religious 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING  FAITH.  165 

principle,  and  you  are  safe  from  all  the  subtleties  of 
men  or  devils.  "  He  that  believeth  in  him  shall  not  be 
confounded."  Attempt  religion  without  this,  and  "  the 
multitude  of  thoughts  within  "  you  will  be.  dark  and 
confused  as  chaos,  before  God  said  "  Let  there  be 
light !  " 

h.  Faith  in  the  testimony  of  God.  This  follows  as  a 
logical  and  moral  necessity  from  faith  in  God  as  the 
witness.  We  are  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  God  has 
made  a  revelation  to  us,  and,  if  so,  where  that  revela- 
tion is  to  be  found  ;  after  which  there  is  no  alternati\e 
but  to  believe  whatever  he  has  been  pleased  to  reveal, 
all  that  he  has  revealed,  and  nothing  beyond  that  h-- 
has  revealed.  It  were  preposterous  for  us,  who  ha^ 
confessed  that  we  can  know  nothing  of  religion  excL|;c 
as  God  makes  it  known  to  us,  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
the  matter  of  his  teaching,  receiving  this  and  rejecting 
that  portion  of  it,  according  as  it  seems  consistent  or  not 
with  our  reason.  In  acknowledging  God  to  be  the  only 
true  and  sufficient  witness,  we  have  bound  ourselves 
to  believe  his  testimony  implicitly  and  unhesitatingly. 
Upon  the  same  principle,  we  may  not  extend  our  re- 
ligious opinions  beyond  what  he  has  taught,  for,  besides 
our  incompetence  to  make  farther  discoveries,  we  can- 
not allow  ourselves,  without  gross  irreverence,  to  sup- 
pose that  God  would  teach  us  imperfectly,  or  keep  back 
anything  which  is  profitable  or  comforting. 

God  has  given  us  a  revelation,  and  that  revelation  is 
found  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Te?  - 
taments.  We  may  and  should  exercise  our  reason  in 
judging  of  the  evidences  on  which  the  claim  of  thos,^. 
Scriptures  to  be  the  Word  of  God  is  founded  ;  but,  the 
moment  that  we  admit  their  divine  inspiration,  right 


166  SAVING  FAITH.  [Lect.VIII. 

reason  becomes  faith  in  all  they  declare,  and  in  their 
full  declarations  as  utterly  sufficient  for  our  religious 
science  and  practice.  Of  the  proofs  that  the  Scriptures 
are  the  Word  of  God,  this  is  not  the  place,  nor  have 
we  the  time,  now  to  speak.  It  is  enough,  at  present, 
to  say,  that  we  have  historical  testimony  which  puts 
beyond  doubt  the  fact  of  their  having  been  written  by 
holy  men  of  God,  "  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  "  that  such  is  the  incomparable  majesty  of  their 
style,  the  supei^natural  elevation  of  their  truths,  the 
admirable  harmony  of  their  parts,  though  published  at 
intervals  by  different  (secondary)  authors,  during  a 
period  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years ;  the  purity 
and  uncompromising  sternness  of  their  moral  sentiments 
and  precepts ;  the  vast  and  salutary  control  which 
they  have  had  upon  the  lives  of  those  who  have  be- 
lieved them,  and  the  nations  through  which  they  have 
been  disseminated,  as  to  render  their  ascription  to  any 
source  less  than  divine  a  contradiction  and  absurdity. 
The  Catechism  does  not  argue,  or  even  admit  the 
question ;  it  is  (as  was  shown  in  our  remarks  prefa- 
tory to  the  lesson  of  the  First  Lord's  Day)  addressed  to 
Christians ;  and  every  sincere  Chiistian  has  in  his  own 
conscious  experience  a  proof,  divinely  given  him  by  the 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  his  soul,  stronger  than 
all  other  proofs  beside,  and  one  which  no  arguments  of 
infidelity  can  shake.  "  He  that  believeth  hath  the  wit- 
ness in  himself,"  for  none  but  he  who  made  the  heart 
could  have  promulged  a  scheme  so  adapted  to  its  wants, 
its  weaknesses,  its  temptations,  and  its  immortality. 
The  true  Christian,  therefore,  has,  in  the  language  of 
the  Catechism,  "  a  certain  knowledge,  whereby  he 
holds  for  truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  his 


LECT.VIir.]  SAVIXG   FAITH.  1G7 

Word."  Not  that  a  tlioi-ough  knowledge  of  all  that  is 
taught  in  the  Word  is  ahsolutely  necessary  to  saving- 
faith,  for  the  Christian  is  born  unto  eternal  life  as  a 
little  chikl,  and  many  are  unfitted,  for  various  reasons, 
to  pursue  the  study  necessary  for  a  thorough  science  of 
divine  religion ;  and  such  are  the  infinities  of  truth 
opened  by  the  sacred  writings,  that  no  finite  mind  can 
fathom  them  in  time,  or  even  in  eternity ;  but  every 
true  Christian,  however  simple  or  learned,  believes  the 
main  fundamental  principles  on  which  the  entire  system 
is  built  up,  and  is  ready,  from  his  faith  in  God  the  wit- 
ness, to  receive  with  humble  and  glad  faith  all  that  he 
progressively  ascertains  "  to  be  written  in  the  Scriptures 
for  our  learning."  He  "  grows  in  orace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 

c.  Faith  in  the  application  of  the  testimony  to  ourselves. 
"True  faith,"  says  the  Catechism,  "is  not  only  a  cer- 
tain knowledge,  whereby  I  hold  for  truth  all  that  God 
has  revealed  to  us  in  his  Word,  but  also  an  assurei 
confidence,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  the  Gospei 
in  my  heart,  that  not  only  to  others  but  to  me  also,  re- 
mission of  sin,  everlasting  righteousness,  and  salvation 
are  freely  given  of  God,  merely  of  grace  only,  for  the 
sake  of  Christ's  merits." 

The  Catechism  does  not  assert,  as  I  understand  it, 
that  such  "  a  certain  knowledge  whereby  we  hold  for 
truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  his  word,"  can 
exist  in  our  souls  without  an  apprehension  of  that  truth 
for  ourselves,  or  that  a  sinner  can  believe  in  the  grant 
of  Christ's  saving  benefits  to  other  sinners,  while  he 
does  not  believe  in  their  grant  to  him  ;  but,  that  a  per- 
sonal reliance  on  the  Gospel  with  its  promises  is  essen- 
tially necessary  to  a  true  faith,  and  that  without  such 


168  SAVING   FAITH.  [Lect-YIII 

an  application  of  the  Gospel  to  his  particular  case, 
whatever  semblance  of  belief  in  the  Scriptures  a  man 
may  have,  it  is  but  a  semblance  and  not  a  genuine 
faith.  This  will  appear  at  once,  if  we  consider  the 
vast  importance  of  the  truths  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures to  each  sinner  who  knows  the  Gospel.  We  are 
the  sinners  of  whom  the  Scriptures  speak ;  upon  us  rests 
the  wrathful  curse  of  divine  condemnation  for  time  and 
eternity  ;\to  us  the  only  way  of  escape  from  death,  the 
only  way  of  life,  is  declared ;  and  salvation,  though 
provided  for  many,  is  promised  only  to  those  who  be- 
lieve, and  to  them  certainly.  "  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
hfe."  Mark  the  change  from  the  noun  of  multitude  to 
the  singular  person,  "  whosoever."  Again  :  ''  If  any 
man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink."  The 
church  is  not  saved  in  a  mass,  but  individually.  Faith 
and  repentance  are  personal  acts  ;  pardon  and  life  are 
given  to  persons ;  and,  therefore,  except  a  man  believe, 
and  repent,  and  accept  the  grace  for  himself,  he  does 
not  truly  believe  in  the  Gospel  at  all.  For  a  true  be- 
lief in  such  momentous  declarations  must  be  something 
more  than  a  mere  acknowledgment  that  they  are  truths. 
Except  we  act  upon  them,  except  we  are  convinced  of 
our  own  guilt,  except  we  put  our  trust  in  Christ  as  our 
Saviour,  except  Ave  forsake  our  sins  and  endeavor  after 
new  obedience,  is  it  not  clear  that  Ave  ha\'e  no  genuine 
belief  of  the  divine  testimony  ?  For  Avho  can  believe 
in  eternity  and  not  make  preparation  for  it  ?  Who 
can  believe  in  eternal  ])unishment,  and  not  strive  to 
escape  it  ?  Who  can  belie\'e  in  eternal  blessedness,  and 
not  strive  to  attain  it  ?     Who  can  believe  that  Christ 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING  FAITH.  169 

is  able,  willing,  and  ready  to  save  ev^ry  one  that  comes 
to  liim,  and  not  go  to  him  to  be  saved?  I  may  be  toliL 
that  Julius  CiBsar  was  murdered  in  the  Roman  capito' 
nearly  nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  but  whether  I  be- 
lieve it  or  not,  it  will  make  no  difference  in  my  conduct, 
for  his  death  has  no  perceptible  bearing  on  my  welfare  ; 
but,  when  God  declares  to  me  that  a  few  years  after 
Cffisar's  death,  his  only  begotten  Son  became  incar- 
nate, passed  through  a  life  of  trial  and  righteousness, 
and  died  upon  a  cross,  that  by  the  merits  of  his  substi- 
tuted merits  all  who  put  their  trust  in  him  shall  bo 
saved,  but  all  who  reject  him  shall  be  damned  ;  if  I 
truly  believe  the  testimony,  I  will  trust  and  follow  him 
as  my  Saviour  ;  but  if  I  profess  to  believe  that  he  is  the 
Saviour  of  other  sinners,  yet  do  not  rely  upon  him  as 
mine,  my  belief  that  he  is  willing  to  save  all  who  be- 
lieve must  come  fatally  short  of  true  faith  in  the  divine 
Word.  This  personal  application  and  apprehension  of 
Christ's  Gospel  is  the  faith  which  unites  us  to  Christ, 
crrafts  us  in  him,  and  makes  the  channel  of  his  saving 
benefits  to  our  souls.  Thus  the  Apostle  exultingly 
says  :  "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  nevertheless  I  live  : 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and  the  life  which 
I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  Not 
that  Christ  died  for  him  only,  or  in  any  exclusive  sense, 
but  that,  because  he  believed  in  Christ,  he  knew  th 
promise  of  salvation  by  Christ  was  applicable  to  him. 
A  thousand  other  scriptural  proofs  might  be  added,  for 
it  is  a  doctrine  running  through  the  whole  Gospel.  So 
sings  the  sweetest  singer  of  modern  Israel :  — 

"  O  love  divine,  how  sweet  thou  art ! 
When  shall  I  find  this  longing  heart 


170  SAVING  FAITH.  [Lect.  VHI 

All  taken  up  by  thee  ? 
For  thee  I  thirst,  I  die  to  prove 
The  sweetness  of  redeeming  love, 

The  love  of  Christ  for  me." 

II.  The  divine  source  from  which  this  faith  is 
derived. 

"  True  faith,"  says  the  Catechism,  is  "  an  assured 
confidence,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  by  the  Gospel 
in  my  lieart." 

1.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  efficient  agent,  and  works 
faith  in  the  heart.  Faith,  as  has  been  said,  is  a  per- 
sonal act,  an  exercise  of  a  man's  own  judgment  and 
will ;  but  sin  has  so  disordered  and  impaired  our  moral 
faculties  as  to  render  vis  incapable  of  imderstanding  or 
relishing  the  truths  of  the  divine  Word  ;  and  as  our 
hearts  are  by  natiu'e  "  enmity  against  God,"  so  they 
are  averse  to  all  that  he  reveals.  Ordinary  observa- 
tion shows  that  a  criminal  temper  and  conduct  disin- 
clines a  man  to  hear  whatever  rebukes,  condemns,  or 
threatens  him  ;  renders  him  insensible  to  argument  or 
motive ;  distorts  his  perceptions  ;  preoccupies  his  con- 
victions ;  stupefies  his  conscience  ;  and  even  enrages 
him  against  the  reasoning  and  the  reasoner  on  the 
opposite  side  ;  so  that  we,  without  exaggeration,  pro- 
nounce him  to  be  incompetent  to  think  truly,  or  decide 
justly  ;  but  much  more  is  this  the  case  with  our  fallen 
nature  in  respect  to  the  principles  of  religion,  which 
are  opposed  to  our  innate  dispositions,  and  the  habits 
of  an  ungodly  life.  Man  lost  by  the  fall  that  spiritual 
likeness  to  God,  which  answered  Avitli  echoing  assent 
every  declaration  of  the  divine  will.  Hence  there 
must  be,  in  order  to  faith,  a  regeneration  or  re-creation 
of  our  natures  ;  an   "  enlightening  of  tht>  eyes  of  our 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING  FAITH.  171 

understanding "  that  we  "  may  know,"  a  transforma- 
tion by  the  renewing  of  our  minds  "  that  we  may 
prove  (learn  by  investigation)  what  is  that  (the)  good, 
and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God."  This  repa- 
ration ^of  our  moral  faculties  making  us  capable  of 
faith,  is  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and,  so, 
faith  is  said  to  be  "  wrought  in  us,"  though  we  exert 
the  faith,  or  believe.  Thus  :  the  "  Lord  opened  the 
heart  "  of  Lydia,  that  she  "  attended  unto  the  things 
which  were  spoken  of  Paul :  "  and  again :  "  No  man 
can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost;" 
which  corresponds  to  our  Lord's  promise,  that  when 
the  Spirit  of  truth  (before  called  by  him  the  Holy 
Ghost)  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth  ;  "  and 
the  fact,  that  after  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
at  the  Pentecost,  the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  over  the 
carnal  prejudices  of  men  began.  The  Apostle  Paul 
sums  up  the  doctrine  :  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through 
faith  ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God  ;  " 
which  means  that  the  whole  method  of  salvation  through 
faith  is  the  gracious  gift  of  God,  by  the  operations  of 
the  official  agent  in  the  communication  of  grace,  —  the 
Holy  Ghost.  In  fact,  we  can  neither  do  or  be  what  is 
acceptable  to  God,  but  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

2.  The  instrument  which  the  Holy  Ghost  employs  to 
work  faith  in  our  hearts  is  "  the  Gospel,"  by  which 
the  Catechism  means  the  whole  Word  of  God.  The 
truth  of  the  Gospel  is  the  testimony  which  we  are  to 
believe  ;  and,  therefore,  faith  cannot  be  wrought  until 
the  word  is  brought  nigh  to  the  soul  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  God  might,  certainly,  fill  the  soul  of  a  man  at 
once,  and  without  any  instrumentality,  with  all  the 
^ 


172  SAVING   FAITH.  [Lect.  VIIL 

truths  of  religion,  as  he  did  tlie  minds  of  prophets  and 
apostles  ;  but  that  would  be  inspiration  by  an  act  of 
divine  sovereignty,  not  faith,  which  is  an  act  of  our 
our  own.  It  is  true,  also,  that  there  is  a  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  soul  of  man,  previous  to  his  recep- 
tion of  the  truth  ;  but  tha^  is  rather  a  preparation  of 
the  soul,  a  giving  to  it  of  a  disposition  to  believe,  than 
fliitli  itself.  But  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  there  is  a 
divine  fitness  in  the  Gospel  to  work  this  faith,  when  it 
is  wielded  by  the  hand  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  truths 
of  the  Gospel  are  precisely  those  which  would,  were 
there  no  fatal  defect  in  the  reasoning  of  men,  convince 
them,  and  constrain  their  belief.  Every  Christian 
knows,  also,  by  experience,  that  the  growth  of  his  soul 
in  spiritual  life  is  nourished  by  the  Holy  Ghost  through 
the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  they  are  admi- 
rably calculated  for  that  end  ;  so  that  we  may  without 
rashness  believe  the  fitness  of  the  same  Gospel  for  the 
conviction  and  conversion  of  the  impenitent.  The 
manner,  the  arguments,  the  illustrations,  the  very  lan- 
guage of  the  Scripture,  have  been  arranged  and  adapted 
i)y  the  only  all- wise  Metaphysician  for  the  purpose  of 
\\orkino:  faith  in  the  heart.  Hence  the  main  doctrine 
of  Scripture,  "  Jesus  Christ  and  him  Crucified,"  is 
called,  by  the  Apostle,  "  the  wdsdom  of  God,  and  the 
power  of  God  "  unto  salvation  ;  and,  again,  "  the  Word 
of  God  is  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any 
two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder 
of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  the  marrow, 
and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
lieart ;  "  that  is,  it  dissects  and  probes  the  heart  to  the 
quick.  The  Apostle  Peter,  also,  makes  the  Word  to  be 
the  living  seed  by  whicl/  God  begets  his  spiritual  chil- 


Lect.  VIII.]  SAVING  FAITH.  173 

vlren  to  eternal  life :  "  Being  born  again  not  of  corrupt- 
ible seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  Word  of  God, 
which  liveth  and  abideth  forever."  This  ascription  of 
divine  adaptedness  to  the  Word  as  the  chosen  instru- 
ment, is  not  opposed  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  the  agent.  An  instrument  can  produce  effcc! 
only  when  it  is  employed  by  an  intelligent  agent ;  aii^ 
oftentimes  an  instrument  is  of  such  a  character  that  ;; 
mighty  and  most  skilful  agent  is  required  to  wield  it, 
which  is  preeminently  the  case  Avith  the  Word  of  God. 
Because  it  is  the  Word  of  God,  none  but  God  can  em- 
ploy it  effectually.  It  is  a  sword  of  exquisite  keenness, 
but  it  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit ;  impotent  of  itself,  yet 
powerful  in  his  omnipotent  hand. 

The  source  of  our  faith  is,  therefore,  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ ;  and  the 
method  of  his  operation  is  by  the  Gospel,  which  is  tlu 
doctrine  of  Christ.  Hence  we  learn  the  wisdom  of 
looking  to  Christ  for  the  Spirit  of  faith,  its  Author  and 
Finisher.  "  Lord,  increase  our  faith  !  "  was  the  prayed' 
of  the  disciples  ;  let  it  be  continually  ours  ;  until  we 
shall  no  more  have  need  even  of  God's  testimony,  but 
shall  "  see  him  as  he  is,"  "  face  to  face  !  "  And,  also, 
we  learn  to  recognize  as  true  faith,  only  that  which  is 
wrought  in  our  hearts  by  the  Gospel.  All  dreams,  or 
visions,  or  supernatural  intimations  of  any  kind  ;  all 
impressions,  sentiments,  or,impvilses  of  our  own  ;  all 
dictates  of  public  opinion,  ecclesiastical  decrees,  or  tra- 
ditions of  men  are  vmworthy  of  trust.  These  are  not 
instruments  by  which  the  Spirit  works.  The  sword  of 
the  Spirit  is  the  Word  of  God  alone.  We  believe  God 
and  his  testimony.  We  need  no  more  ;  we  will  take 
no  less. 


174  SAVING  FAITH.  [Lect.  VIII. 

Thirdly  :   The  articles  of  a  true  Cliristiayi  faith. 

We  learn  from  the  22d  and  23d  Questions  and  An- 
swers, that  these  are  stated  in  the  admirable  summary 
commonly  called  The  Apostles'  Creed  ;  the  study 
of  which  is,  by  divine  permission,  to  occupy  us  for  the 
next  fifteen  Lord's  Days.  We  shall,  therefore,  reserve 
the  opening  of  it  until  our  next  lesson,  where  it  more 
properly  belongs. 

Practical  Inferences.  —  First :  The  importance 
of  ascertainino;  our  union  with  Christ. 

Secondly :  The  necessity  of  a  personal  faith  in  Christ. 

Thirdly :  The  vital  dependence  of  our  souls  for  faith 
on  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Fourthly  :  The  duty  and  privilege  of  studying  the 
Word  with  prayer. 


I 


LECTURE  IX. 

THE  EETNG  AND  UNITY  OF  GOD. 


EIGHTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   BEING   AND   UNITY   OF   GOD. 

Quest.  XXIV.     How  are  these  articles  divided  f 

Ans.     Into  three  parts:  The  first  is  of  God  the  Father,  and  our  creation; 

the  second  is  of  God  the  Son,  and  our  redemption ;  the  third  is  of  God 

the  Hoi}'  Ghost,  and  our  sanctification. 
QuKST.  XXV.      Since  there  is  only  one  divine  essence,  why  speakest  thou 

of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost? 
Ans.     Because  God  hath  so  revealed  himself  in  his  Word,  that  these  three 

distinct  persons  are  the  one  only  true  and  eternal  God. 

T^HE  lesson  of  the  last  Lord's  Day  brought  before  us 
-^  that  compend  of  religious  truth,  commonly  known 
as  "  The  Apostles'  Creed ;  "  which,  for  at  least  thirteen 
centuries,  has  been  acknowledged,  formally  or  infor- 
mally, by  all  bodies  of  men,  not  heretical,  calling  them- 
selves Christians,  as  "  a  good  confession."  The  lesson 
of  to-day  begins  the  commentary  of  our  Church,  in 
its  Catechism,  on  its  several  articles  ;  but,  before  enter- 
ino-  upon  the  exposition,  it  is  proper  that  some  brief 
notice  should  be  taken  of  the  Creed  itself,  as  a  symbol 
or  declaration  of  belief. 

Here,  and  in  the  "  Form  for  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,"  it  is  denominated  "  our  Catholic, 
undoubted  Christian  Faith,"  or  summary  confession  of 
faith.  Christian,  because  it  distinguishes  our  only  true 
religion  from  every  false  religion,  the  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion by  Christ  being  its  grand,  peculiar  characteristic  ; 
undoubted,  because  as  a  whole,  and  in  its  several  par- 
ticulars, it  is  derived  fi'om  the  sure  and  complete  testi- 
mony of  God's  mo<it  holy  word  ;  Catholic,  because  it  is 

VOL.  I.  12 


178  THE  BEING  AND  UNITY   OF   GOD.        [Lect.  IX. 

the  faith  of  all  true  Christians  of  all  ages,  and  through- 
out the  world. 

It  takes  its  name  of  Creed  or  Belief  from  the  Latin 
verb  Credo,  at  the  beginning,  the  translation  of  which 
is  "  I  believe  ; "  and  we  do  not  refuse  to  call  it  "  The 
Apostles'  Creed,"  because  it  sets  forth  the  doctrine 
which  is  authoritatively  recorded  for  the  faith  of  the 
Church  in  the  books  of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  Church  of  Rome,  however,  misinterpreting 
and  misquoting  the  language  of  some  eminent  and 
ancient  doctors  or  fathers,  and  adding  gross  inventions 
of  its  own,  has  claimed  for  the  Creed  that  its  very 
form  was  actually  the  joint  work  of  the  apostles  them- 
selves ;  and  that,  before  separating  on  their  different 
missions,  they  determined  to  frame  a  common  symbol 
by  which  the  disciples  of  each  might  be  recognized  by 
the  disciples  of  the  others,  and  the  unity  of  faith  be 
preserved,  each  apostle  contributing  an  article,  thus 
making  up  the  twelve  as  we  find  them  ;  or,  if  Paul 
and  Barnabas  were  among  the  compositors,  fourteen, 
as  the  division  is  sometimes  made.  This  fable  has 
been  incautiously  received  and  reasserted  by  some 
Protestants,  but  ought  to  be  utterly  repudiated  as 
unfounded  and  mischievous.  For  it  is  incredible  that 
so  important  a  transaction  as  the  provision  of  a  Creed 
for  the  whole  Church,  combining  the  inspiration  of 
the  apostolical  college,  should  receive  no  notice  from 
the  historian  Luke,  or  any  other  sacred  writer  ;  yet  no 
mention  of  it  Is  made  anywhere  in  the  New  Testament, 
nor  does  the  document  itself  anywhere  appear,  there 
being  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  it.  All  along  down 
to  Augustine,  himself  Included,  the  early  doctors  set 


Lect.  IX.J        the  being  AND   UNITY   OF  GOD.  179 

forth  nothing  else  than  the  canonical  books  of  Scrip- 
ture as  the  rule  of  faith ;  nor  can  we  find  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  as  we  have  it,  earlier,  at  the  earliest,  than  toward 
the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  Parts  of  it,  indeed,  did 
appear,  and  it  was  gradually  increasing  to  its  complete 
form  ;  but  its  full  consistency  cannot  be  discovered 
until  about  the  time  just  stated.  Therefore  do  we 
believe  the  doctrines  of  the  Creed,  not  because  they  are 
contained  in  the  Creed,  which,  as  to  its  form,  is  an  un- 
inspired and  human  document,  but  because  they  aj'e 
the  doctrines  of  the  Word  of  God.  At  the  same  time 
that  we  deny  divine  inspiration  to  the  Creed,  we  rejoice 
in  receiving  it  as  the  most  condensed,  comprehensive, 
and  scriptural  digest,  or  abridgment,  of  Christian 
truth  framed  by  human  hands  ;  and  fully  adopt  the 
encomium  pronounced  on  it  by  St.  Augustine  :  "  It  is 
a  perfect  compend  of  our  faith,  simple,  brief,  full ;  its 
simplicity  adapted  to  ordinaiy  minds ;  its  brevity  to 
our  memories  ;  its  fulness  to  the  entire  doctrine."  May 
God  make  our  belief  of  it  clear,  strong,  and  entire  ! 

Let  us  now  consider  the  lesson  proper  to  this  Lord's 
Day,  which  consists  of:  — 

First  :  A  Division  of  the  Oreed  into  three  parts. 

Twenty-fourth  Question  and  Answer. 

Secondly:  The  fundamental  doctrine  of  One  Grod  in 
Three  Persons,  which  is  the  substance  of  the  ivhole. 

Twenty-fifth  Question  and  Answer. 

First.     A  Division  of  the  Creed  into  three  parts  :  — 

The  First,  of  God  the  Father,  and  our  Oreation  ; 

The  Second,  of  God  the  Son,  and  our  Redemption  ; 

The  Third,  of  God  the  Holy  Cfhost,  and  our  Sancti- 
fication. 

The  mission  of  the  Church  of  God  to  preach  th 


180  THE   BEING   AND   UNITY   OF    GOD.         [Lkct.  IX 

Gospel  throughout  the  world  required  that  it  should 
be  j)resented  before  tlie  world  in  an  outward,  visible 
organization,  for  which  was  necessary  some  public  cere- 
mony of  separation,  and  a  distinct  avowal  of  faith  to 
distinguish  its  members  from  unbelieving  men.  It, 
therefox'e,  might  have  been  expected  that  the  Head  of 
the  Church  would  himself  prescribe  both  the  ceremony 
and  the  form  of  the  confession,  which  he  did  when, 
giving  the  apostles  his  parting  injunction,  he  said  :  "  Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Baptism,  or  the  application  of  water  to 
the  person  of  the  candidate,  was  the  ceremony  by 
which  the  Church  acknowledged  him  as  a  believer,  and 
admitted  him  to  her  fellowship.  The  doctrine  which 
he  professed,  and  which  was  set  forth  as  the  common 
belief  of  the  whole  Church,  is  stated  in  the  formula 
accompanying  the  administration  of  the  ordinance.  It 
matters  little  whether  the  person  to  be  baptized  himself 
uttered  the  words:  "  I  believe  in  the  Father,  and  in 
the  Son,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost ; "  or  the  administra- 
tor, when  pronouncing  the  formula,  thereby  openly  sig- 
nified that  the  confession  had  been  given  in  to  him 
more  privately  ;  though  it  seems  from  several  Scrip- 
tures probable  that  "  confession  "  was  made  "  with  tlie 
mouth,"  publicly,  at  the  time.  The  fact  of  his  submit- 
ting to  baptism  administered  to  him  with  the  formula, 
was  a  confession  of  his  faith  symbolized  by  those  words. 
This,  then,  was  the  first  form  of  the  Christian  Creed, 
and  its  three  parts,  the  triple,  yet  united,  foundation  of 
all  Christian  belief.  The  instruction  which  he  Avas  to 
receive  was  not  to  be  confined  within  the  few  words 
of   the   formula ;    our  Lord  enjoined   that  all   nations 


Lect.  IX.]  THE   BEING   AND   UNITY   OF   GOD.  181 

should  be  tauo-bt  to  "  observe  all  tliino;s  whatsoever  he 
had  commanded "  the  apostolir^-l  teachers ;  but  the 
formula  gives  the  three  heads  under  which  the  more 
particular  developments  of  the  inspired  scriptural  doc- 
trine should  be  arranged.  Hence,  the  early  churches, 
finding  it  necessaiy  to  guard  against  heretical  miscon- 
ceptions and  unauthorized  novelties,  rendered  their 
creeds  more  specific  and  nice,  by  parenthetical  inser- 
tions, but  preserved  the  order  of  the  original  symbol  ; 
and  gradually  the  creed  grew  into  the  shape  which  it 
now  has,  and  was  adopted  really,  if  not  by  express 
declaration,  as  the  creed  of  the  Church  universal.  Our 
Catechism,  therefore,  follows  the  organic  division. 

The  supplementary  titles  of  the  three  several  parts, 
viz:  Of  our  Creation,  Of  our  Redemption,  Of  our 
Sanctification,  are  added,  partly  because  that  is  the 
order  of  the  Divine  Avorks  concerning  us,  and  espe- 
cially because  the  Scriptures  represent  Creation  as  the 
official  work  of  the  Father,  the  First  Person  of  the 
Godhead ;  Redemption  as  the  official  work  of  the  Son, 
the  Second  Person  ;  Sanctification  as  the  official  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Third  Person  ;  but  it  must  not 
be  inferred  that  these  divine  adorable  Persons  operated 
each  alone  when  performing  their  official  works,  since 
Creation  is  ascribed  also  to  the  Son  as  the  eternal 
Word,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  efficient  Agent ; 
Redemption  also  to  the  Father,  v/ho  sent  the  Son,  and 
to  the  Holy  Ghost  who  prepared  and  sealed  the  Im- 
manuel  for  his  mediatorship  ;  and  Sanctification  also  to 
the  Father,  who  grants  grace  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
to  the  Son,  at  whose  intercession  the  grace  is  given  ; 
all  which  will  be  fully  shown  hereafter. 

Secondly.   The  fundamental  doctrine  underlying  the 


182  THE  BEING  AND  UNITY   OF  GOD.         [Lect.  IX. 

whole  Creed,  wliicli  is  :  Tlie  existence  of  one  God  in  three 
Per  SO)  IS. 

An  inquirer  after  trutli  might  well  put  the  question 
here  suggested  : 

"  Since  there  is  but  one  only  divine  essence,  why 
speakest  thou  of  Father,  Sop,  and  Holy  Ghost  ?  "  But 
the  answer  is  readily  given  on  the  best  authority  : 

"  Because  God  hath  so  revealed  himself  in  his  word 
that  these  three  distinct  Persons  are  the  one  only  true 
and  eternal  God." 

Here  are  three  things  stated :  I.  There  is  a  God. 
II.  There  is  only  one  God.  HI.  There  are  three  dis- 
tinct Persons  in  the  one  only  and  true  God. 

I.  There  is  a  God.  The  word  God  is  a  radical 
found  in  several  languages,  (Persic,  Goda;  Hindu, 
Choda  ;  Icelandic,  Godi ;  German,  Gott ;)  signifying 
One  above  all,  or  The  Supreme.  Many  flxlse  or  imag- 
inary beings  have  been  called  and  worshipped  as  gods 
by  men  ;  but  that  is  not  a  true  belief  in  God,  which  is 
not  belief  in  the  true  God.  Hence  the  Apostle  denom- 
inated the  Gentiles  of  his  day  Atheists,  or,  as  our  trans- 
lation has  it,  "  without  God  "  ;  because,  though  they 
cultivated  very  many  false  gods,  tliey  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  him  who  alone  is  God.  It  is  requisite,  there- 
fore, that  we  understand  what  is  meant  by  the  word 
God  ;  and  the  best  definition  we  can  give  of  God  is  : 
The  self-existent,  intelligent  First  Cause  of  all  things. 
Our  Church,  in  commanding  us  to  lecture  on  this  sec- 
tion, did  not  require  an  elaborate  proof  of  its  several 
propositions,  as  that  would  be  far  beyond  the  compass 
of  a  single  Lord's  Day ;  but  only  that  we  should  flairly 
present  them  preparatoiy  to  subsequent  discussion.  We 
must,  then,  be  as  succinct  as   possible.     That  there  is  a 


Lect.  IX.]         THE  BEING  AND   UNITY   OF  GOD.  183 

God  we  know  from  his  own  declaration  of  himself; 
and  from  the  existence  of  things  constituting;  wliat  is 
called  nature. 

A.  From  his  own  declaration  of  himself  The  fact 
that  we  have  the  idea  of  God  demonstrates  in  the 
highest  degree  both  that  he  is  and  that  our  knowledge 
of  him  is  derived  from  himself.  The  idea  of  God, 
according  to  the  definition  we  have  given,  or,  as  set 
forth  by  the  Scriptures,  is  infinitely  above  human  im- 
agination, and  vitterly  beyond  the  scope  of  any  argu- 
ment human  reason  could  frame.  It  has  never  had 
place  in  men's  minds,  except  where  divine  revelation 
has  communicated  it ;  while  the  tendency  of  mankind, 
always  and  everywhere,  except  when  restrained  and 
enlightened  by  divine  grace,  has  been  to  ignore  and 
degrade  it.  Men  without  revelation  have  worshipped 
false  gods,  and  attempted  to  demonstrate  their  exist- 
ence, but  they  have  never  reached  the  idea  of  the 
true  God.  Therefore,  since  man  could  neither  invent 
nor  discover  the  grand  idea,  it  must  have  been  made 
known  to  us,  and  that  by  God  himself  "  The  world 
by  wisdom,''  i.  £.,  by  its  unassisted  reason,  "  knew  not 
God,"  asserts  the  Apostle.  He  cannot  "  by  searching 
find  out  God,"  i.  <?.,  "  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  per- 
fection." That  men  in  all  ages  and  countries  have  had 
some  notion  of  a  superior  being  or  beings  whom  they 
called  God  or  gods,  does  not  impugn  our  position, 
because  their  vague  belief  may  very  well  be,  and  we 
learn  from  Scripture  is,  a  corrupted  tradition  from  the 
fathers  of  the  race  to  whom  God  made  himself  known. 
(Romans  i.  19 .) 

To  this  revelation  of  himself,  God  has  added  the 
irresistible  evidence  of  his  works  ;  for 


184  THE  BEING  AND  UNITY   OF   GOD.         [Lect.  IX. 

B.  The  existence  of  things  can  be  accounted  for 
only  by  the  existence  of  God.  We  know  that  things 
do  exist  in  that  order  and  consistency  whicli  we  call 
nature  ;  therefore,  they  must  have  always  existed,  or 
they  must  have  come  into  existence  by  chance,  or  they 
must  have  been  caused  to  exist  by  the  great,  self-exist- 
ent, intelligent  Being,  whom  it  becomes  us  to  acknowl- 
edge and  worship  as  God. 

That  the  present  frame  of  things  has  existed  always 
is  disproved  by  all  analogy.  In  all  the  processes  of 
nature  we  see  none  occur  but  what  follows  some  prece- 
dent which  we  call  cause,  but  the  eflPective  power  is  not 
in  that  proximate  cause,  for  that  cause  is  itself  an  effect 
of  a  cause  which  is  again  an  effect,  and  so  link  by  link 
we  trace  the  chain  backward.  There  must  be  an  orig- 
inal, uncaused  energy  working  through  all  these  causes 
all  these  effects  ;  for  the  first  cause  must  be  antecedent 
to  nature,  above  nature,  and  independent  of  nature. 
Aoain  :  There  is  motion  producing  change  in  things  as 
they  exist.  But  matter  of  itself  is  inert ;  it  docs  not 
move  except  from  some  force  applied  to  it  from  without 
itself.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  cause  of  motion,  a 
source  of  impulse,  a  power  determining  change,  above 
and  antecedent  to  all  things  that  suffer  change.  Yet 
again :  This  motion  and  change  are  regulated  by  cer- 
tain laws,  many  of  which  are  discovered,  and  these 
laws  cooperate  in  the  nicest  adjustment  to  each  other; 
this  system  of  laws  indicates  design,  there  must,  there- 
fore, be  a  designer,  or  an  intelligent  cause,  whose  will  is 
the  supreme  law  antecedent  to  all  these  laws. 

The  supposition  that  things  as  they  exist  came  into 
existence  by  chance,  is  as  irrational  as  that  they  never 
had  a  beginning,  and  for  the  same  reasons.     We  have 


Lect.  IX.]  THE  BEING  AND  UNITY   OF  GOD.  18o 

no  knowledge  of  such  a  thing  as  chance.  Law  is  pres- 
ent always  and  everywhere,  and  he  is  a  most  ignorant 
fool  who  ascrihes  any  change  to  chance.  How  then 
could  the  entire  system  originate  by  chance  ?  There 
is  evident  design  in  all  things  ;  but  design  indicates 
purpose,  and  purpose  supposes  intelligence ;  and  an 
mtellio;ent  directino;  will  can  tolerate  210  chance. 

If  a  printer  were  to  enter  his  office  in  the  morning, 
and  find  that  the  types  which  he  had  left  in  confusion 
the  night  before  were  so  arranged  that  an  impression 
taken  from  them  presented  to  the  reader  a  clear,  pro- 
found, metaphysical  argument,  he  would  laugh  to  scorn 
the  supposition  that  it  was  the  result  of  mere  chance. 
How  much  less  than  folly  is  the  notion  that  the  won- 
derful system  of  nature,  and  above  all  of  man  able  to  set 
types  and  write  metaphysics,  have  come  into  existence 
by  chance  ? 

We  are  thus  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  cardinal 
truth  on  which  the  whole  system  set  forth  by  the  Scrip- 
tures is  based,  that  in  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth. 

Let  us,  however,  press  the  argument  a  little  farther. 
Every  one  who  reflects  at  all,  must  be  conscious,  that 
although  in  some  sense,  and  to  some  extent,  he  is  free, 
he  is  at  the  same  time  under  a  control  from  without 
himself  which  he  cannot  resist  or  escape.  This  con- 
sciousness, strongest  in  strongest  minds,  is  so  universal 
that  those  so-called  philosophers  who  have  denied  the 
being  or  government  of  God,  substitute  necessity  or 
fate  in  his  place  ;  or,  if  they  call  it  chance,  it  amounts 
to  the  same  thing,  for  a  blind  chance  over  which  we 
had  no  power,  would  be  fate  or  necessity  to  us  ;  but 
this  necessity  clearly  works  through  laws ;  there  must, 


186  THE   BEING   AND   UNITY   OF   GOD.         [Ltcr.  IX. 

therefore,  be  a  supreme  intelligent  will  presiding  over 
our  intellio-ent  wills,  reo-ulatino-  the  issues  of  all  huinan 
agencies.  Besides,  Me  cannot  deny  that  there  are 
moral  truths  distinguishable  from  those  which  ai'e  nat- 
ural, that  is,  which  concern  physical  facts.  As  beings 
possessed  of  affections  and  reason,  we  are  bound  to  each 
other  by  certain  relations ;  these  relations  are  under 
laws,  conformity  to  which  we  denominate  right ;  vio- 
lation of  which,  wronw.  We  have  notions  of  right 
and  wrong,  by  which  we  approve  ourselves  when 
we  do  right,  and  condemn  ourselves  when  we  do 
wrong.  We  also  see  a  connection  between  right  and 
happiness,  wrong  and  unhappiness.  There  may  be 
differences  of  opinion  on  minor  points,  but  in  the  essen- 
tial, the  sense  of  mankind  is  so  general  that  there  is  no 
community  without  laws  to  punish  wrong  in  order  that 
the  common  welfare  may  be  defended  from  the  criminal 
selfishness  of  individuals.  Whence,  then,  comes  this 
moral  system,  the  fact  of  which  we  confess,  and  the 
operation  of  Avhich  we  imitate,  if  not  from  a  moral 
source  original,  independent,  and  sovereign  ?  The  idea 
of  God  is  absolutely  necessary  to  our  satisfaction.  If 
there  be  no  God,  the  universe  is  without  superintend- 
ence, order,  or  government.  There  is  no  guide  for  our 
actions,  no  certainty,  no  right,  no  wrong,  no  truth,  no 
hope.  The  soul  of  man  is  without  security  or  satisfac- 
tion. jNIatter  reverts  to  chaos,  humanity  is  fatherless, 
and  virtv^e  with  all  her  attendant  train  of  blessings,  a 
vision  fair  but  unsubstantial  as  a  poet's  dream.  God 
has  pervaded  the  universe  with  the  divinity  of  its  origin, 
and  planted  in  our  very  being  the  necessity  of  his  own. 

II.   There  is  only  one  God. 

"  We  know,"  writes  the  Apostle  to  his  Corinthian 


Lect.  IX.]        THE  BEING  AND   UNITY   OF   GOD.  18T 

brethren,  "  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  that 
there  is  none  other  God  but  one."  Evident  as  this 
appears  to  us,  it  was  then  a  new  doctrine  at  Corinth 
and  throughout  the  inhabited  earth  except  in  Judea. 
Tliere  is  not  in  all  Christian  lands  a  single  sceptic  who 
would  assert  a  plurality  of  gods,  or  regard  such  an 
hypothesis  as  less  than  absurd.  Yet  the  overwhelming 
fact  is  indisputable  that  the  very  large  majority  of  man- 
kind, from  the  farthest  times  down  to  the  present  day, 
have  been  polytheists,  worshippers  of  more  gods  than 
one.  The  gods  of  the  classical  nations  were  innumer- 
able, as  are  now  the  gods  of  Asia  and  Africa.  The  unity 
of  God  has  never  been  taught  but  by  revelation,  and  is 
the  belief  which  distinguishes  Jews,  Christians,  and 
Mohammedans,  from  the  heathen  who  fill  the  rest  of 
the  world.  It  should  not,  therefore,  be  considered  use- 
less for  us  to  examine  and  declare  the  grounds  of  our 
belief,  especially  as  we  who  hold  the  adorable  mystery 
of  the  Trinity  to  be  an  essential  part  of  the  Christian 
system,  (Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and 
to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen  !)  have  been  accused  of 
denying  the  unity  of  God  by  some  who  arrogate  to 
themselves  the  name  of  Unitarian,  which  belongs  as 
truly  to  us  as  does  that  of  Trinitarian.  Our  exposition 
shall,  however,  be  as  brief  as  is  consistent  with  clear- 
ness. 

By  the  unity  of  God,  we  mean  that  there  is  one  and 
one  only  Being,  to  whom  the  name  of  God  should  be 
niven,  the  works  of  God  ascribed,  the  perfections  of 
God  attributed,  and  the  worship  of  God  rendered. 
This  we  assert. 

I.  From  the  Scriptures,  which,  because  they  teach 
the  original  and  only  clear  notion  of  the  divine  exist- 


188  THE   BEING   AND   UNITY   OF   GOD.         [Lect.  IX. 

ence,  are  worthy  of  the  highest  credence  in  all  that 
relates  to  the  nature  of  God. 

a.  God  asserts  it  of  himself.  His  first  command- 
ment is  :  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me." 
The  name  by  which  he  declared  himself  to  Israel  is 
sublimely  significant  of  both  unity  and  eternal  exist- 
ence :  "  I  am  that  I  am.''''  He  identifies  himself  as  the 
one  God  with  the  Creator  :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  that 
created  the  heavens,  God  himself  that  formed  the  earth 
and  made  it ;  he  hath  established  it,  he  created  it  not 
in  vain,  he  formed  it  to  be  inhabited  :  I  am  the  Lord, 
and  there  is  none  else  ;  "  also  with  the  Judge  and 
Saviour  of  all  men  :  "  There  is  no  God  else  beside  me  ; 
a  just  God  and  a  Saviour ;  there  is  none  beside  me  ; 
Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  for  I  am  God  and  there  is  none  else  ; "  as 
the  Lord  of  providence  :  "  I  girded  thee,  though  thou 
hast  not  known  me  ;  that  they  may  know  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun,  and  from  the  west,  that  there  is  none 
beside  me.  I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else  ;  " 
and  so  with  regard  to  every  distinct  attribute  and 
operation  of  God. 

h.  His  inspired  worshippers  throughout  the  Book, 
adore  him  as  the  one  only  God.  Moses  says  :  "  Hear, 
O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord  ;  "  David  : 
"  Thou  art  God  alone ;  "  all  the  prophets  of  the  Old, 
and  all  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  combine  in 
declaring  the  oneness  of  God  as  the  characteristic  be- 
lief of  Jews  and  Christians  ;  but  why  should  we  mul- 
tiply quotations  when  our  divine  Master  sums  up  the 
scriptural  testimony,  saying :  "  This  is  life  eternal, 
that  they  might  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent." 


cECT.  IX.]         THE  BEING  AND  UNITY   OF  GOD.  189 

II.  We  assert  it  from  reason, 

a.  It  is  a  rule  of  sound  philosophy  to  rest  satisfied 
with  one  sufficient  cause  for  an  effect ;  if,  tlierefore,  the 
God  of  the  Bible  with  his  boundless  attributes  be,  as  he 
is,  infinitely  sufficient  for  the  causation  of  all  things,  it 
were  absurd  to  inquire  further.  The  only  objection  to 
this  having  the  shadow  of  plausibility  is  taken  from  the 
actual  existence  of  evil  within  the  dominion  of  the  Su- 
preme Good,  which  difficulty,  felt  by  all  reflecting 
minds,  gave  rise  to  the  most  ancient  extra-scriptural 
philosophy,  that  which  recognized  two  contending  prin- 
ciples, the  good  and  the  evil.  The  answer  to  this  is, 
that  although  the  good  cannot  be  supposed  to  have 
produced  evil  immediately,  yet  it  sprung  from  the  free- 
dom necessarily  given  to  his  moral  creatures.  Besides, 
evil  is  so  intermingled  with  the  good,  that  it  could  not 
have  existed  but  through  the  permission  of  the  Divine 
good ;  since  none  can  doubt  that  he  who  has  ordained 
with  such  wisdom  the  economy  of  things  might,  had 
he  chosen,  have  excluded  evil ;  and,  in  fact,  no  advo- 
cate of  the  dualistic  system  (that  of  The  Two  Princi- 
ples) from  the  early  followers  of  the  Persic  Zoroaster, 
down  to  the  Manichean  heretics,  ever  doubted  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  good  over  the  evil,  or  the  real  suprem- 
acy of  the  good. 

h.  The  infinity  of  the  perfections  attributed  to  God, 
excludes  the  possibility  of  more  than  one  God,  since 
there  cannot  be  more  than  one  infinity.  For  instance, 
omnipotence  excludes  all  other  power  not  derived 
from  and  controlled  by  itself;  omnipresence,  all  ex- 
istence not  within  itself;  omniscience,  all  knowledge 
without  itself.  To  suppose  anything  external  to  the 
divine    causation    or  comprehension,    is    to    deny   that 


190  THE  BEING  AND   UNITY  OF  GOD.        [Lect.  IX 

infinitj  to  God  which  is  essential  to  the  veiy  idea  of 
God. 

c.  The  unity  of  the  system  of  things,  called  for  that 
reason  the  universe,  demands  our  faith  in  one  supreme 
will.  Law  is  present  everywhere,  holding  all  the 
smallest  and  the  greatest,  the  nearest  and  the  farthest, 
in  a  grand  harmonious  whole.  There  is  a  countless 
variety  of  operations,  the  invariable  order  of  which  we 
call  laws  ;  but  when  we  observe  closely,  we  see  these 
laws  coalescing  into,  or  combined  under,  fewer  laws, 
those  under  still  fewer,  until  we  reach  the  necessity  of 
one  hio-hest  law  combining  all,  the  will  of  that  One 
whom  we  adore  as  God.     ^ 

d.  Analogy  confirms  this  reasoning  ;  for  in  every 
arrangement  of  things  there  must  be  some  presiding 
head  ;  ultimate  power  must  exist  somewhere  ;  govern- 
ment must  be  supreme.  It  is  so  in  all  human  systems ; 
it  must  be  in  that  system  which  comprehends  all  sys- 
tems. 

e.  Moral  duty  (without  which  there  is  neither  right 
nor  wrong,  virtue  nor  vice)  must  have  a  supreme 
object.  No  man  can  serve  two  masters ;  yet  from  the 
multitude  and  variety  of  human  relations,  if  we  have 
not  one  master  in  God,  we  cannot  know  what  dvity  is. 
Duties  may  clash  with  duties,  and  so  cease  to  be  duties ; 
there  must  be  one  highest  duty  comprehending  all 
duties,  our  duty  to  him  who  is  the  one  Lord  of  all. 

/.  The  wisest  part  of  mankind,  those  who  feel  the 
logical  necessity  of  following  premises  to  conclusion, 
have  been  compelled,  in  eflPect,  to  acknowledge  one  Su- 
preme. Even  while  dividing  their  worship  among  a 
multitude  of  deities,  there  has  been  traceable  in  their 
systems,  popular  or  philosophical,  a  dependence  from  a 


1.ECT.  IX.]         THE   BEING   ANIJ    UNITY   OF   GOD.  191 

supreme  original.  The  leading  theological  problem 
(of  Proclns),  "  There  is  unity  in  all  multiplicity,"  was 
admitted  by  all  the  theistical  sects.  Hence,  though 
shrinking  from  what  they  deemed  the  impiety  of  giving 
a  name  or  even  a  mode  of  being  to  the  Head  of  all, 
they  called  Him  To  'Ev,  or  The  One  ;  and  he  was  the 
ultimate  truth  of  all  their  speculations  and  mysteries. 
Even  among  the  multitudinous  idolatries  of  Hinduism, 
the  Brahminical  books  dimly  but  really  acknowledge 
an  original  source  of  all  things,  though  they  worship 
him  not,  and  his  existence  is  rather  an  unavoidable 
physical  fact  than  a  religious  truth.  In  fact,  idolatry 
has  never  been  so  much  a  denial  of  the  One  God,  as 
a  perversion  of  his  worship,  and  a  profane  subdivision 
of  his  authoritative  power  under  many  names.  They 
could  not  escape  from  the  idea  of  the  One  God  altogeth- 
er ;  but  they  put  as  many  false  shadows  between  them 
and  his  all-seeing  eye,  as  their  sensual  imaginations 
could  invent.  "  They  changed  the  truth  of  God  into 
a  lie." 

Let  us,  then,  ever  devoutly  remember  the  great 
goodness  of  God  in  giving  us  a  clear  revelation  of 
himself  in  his  holy  Sci'iptures,  without  which,  left  to 
the  imperfections  of  our  own  minds  and  the  worse 
seductions  of  our  sensual  hearts,  we  could  never  have 
known  him  aright  or  offered  him  the  worship  that  is  his 
due.  It  is  to  the  Bible  that  we  owe  that  which  distin- 
guishes us  from  the  heathen,  who  bow  down  to  images 
their  own  hands  have  made ;  and  only  in  the  study  of 
those  Scriptures  can  we  approach  that  Light  which  is 
the  life  of  the  soul. 

Let  us  remember  that  the  essence  of  idolatry  is  an 
unwillino;ness  to  retain  God  in  our  imaginations  ;  and 


192  THE   BEING   AND   UNITY    OF   GOD.  [Lkct.  IX. 

that  when  Ave  forget  God,  to  place  our  trust,  or  to 
make  the  object  of  our  conduct,  other  than  in  God 
alone,  we  are  as  really  idolaters  as  the  heathen  who 
worship  false  gods,  though  far  more  guilty,  because 
without  their  excuse. 

And  above  all,  let  us  remember  that  we  cannot  ap- 
proach God  or  know  him  aright,  but  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  "  I 
am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life,"  saith  the 
Lord ;  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 
"  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto 
thee  ?  " 


I 


LECTURE  X. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED. 


EIGHTH  LORD'S   DAY. 

THE   DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY 
STATED. 

TTAVING  in  our  last  discourse  enforced  the  funda- 
-^-^  mental  truths,  I.  That  there  is  a  God  ;  II.  That 
there  is  only  one  God  ;  we  now  come  to  the  third 
division  of  our  subject,  which  embraces  the  all-impor- 
tant doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

III.  There  are  three  distinct  Persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  one  true  and  only  God. 

In  the  proper  places,  as  we  proceed  with  our  expo- 
sition of  the  Catechism,  we  shall  show  out  of  Scrip- 
ture, that  the  Father  is  God  (Ninth  Lord's  Day)  ; 
that  the  Son  is  God  (Thirteenth  Lord's  Day)  ;  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  God  (Twentieth  Lord's  Day)  ;  from 
which,  since  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  there  is 
only  one  God,  it  must  follow  irresistibly  that  these 
three,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  coexist  or  subsist 
in  the  one  God  and  as  one  God.  Now,  however,  our 
aim,  as  required  by  the  part  of  the  Catechism  under 
consideration,  is  to  show  what  we  mean  by  this  subsist- 
^ence  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  in  One  God  ; 
and  this,  not  only  for  the  confirmation  of  our  faith,  but 
also  for  the  vindication  of  the  doctrine  from  the  felse 
charges  which  ignorance  or  malice  have  brought 
against    it. 

Let  no  one  turn  away  from  this  discussion,  as  though 
the  doctrine  were  a  mere  technical  mysticism,  having 
no  important  bearing  upon  Christian  belief,  sentiment, 


196  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY   STATED,       [Lect.  X. 

or  practice.  Our  Lord  commands  his  disciples  first  to 
"  teach  all  nations,"  and  then  to  baptize  the  converts 
to  his  Gospel ;  and  the  formula  to  be  used  in  Ba[)tism 
("  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  ")  shows  that  the  Gospel  consists  of 
the  true  doctrine  concerning  the  Father,  and  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  not  of  the  Father  only,  but  also 
of  the  Son,  and  also  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  not  of  the 
Three  only  as  One,  but  also  of  each  of  the  Three  as 
distinguished  from  the  other  two  ;  so  that  any  error 
respecting  the  doctrine  of  any  one  of  the  Three  is  fatal 
to  a  Christian  belief.  For  example :  If  the  Father 
only  be  God,  and  Ave  ascribe  divine  honors  to  the  Son 
or  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  are  guilty  of  giving  to  others 
the  homage  due  to  God  only ;  but,  if  the  Son  be  God 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  be  God,  and  we  worship  not  the 
Son  as  God,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  as  God,  we  deny  to 
the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  the  divine  homage 
which  is  their  separate  due.  On  each  side  we  run  into 
sin  mortally  offensive  to  God.  Again  :  If  these  three 
names  be  only  different  titles  of  the  same  object,  as 
that  the  Father  is  the  same  as  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Son  the  same  as  the  Father  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  Father  and  the  Son,  each 
of  the  Three  not  distinct  from  each  of  the  other  two, 
and  we  worship  each  of  the  Three  as  God,  we  are  verily 
guilty  of  worshipping  three  gods,  which  is  a  blasphe- 
mous folly  ;  but,  if  God  has  revealed  himself  as  distinct  in 
Three,  —  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  —  and  demands 
that  homage  be  rendered  to  Father,  to  Son,  and  to 
Holy  Ghost,  as  distinct  in  some  real  not  nominal  sense, 
then,  by  refusing  this  distinct  homage  to  each  or  any 
one  of  the  divine  Three,  we  refuse  to  worship  him  in 


Lect.  X.]       DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY   STATED.  197 

the  manner  he  requu-es,  confounding  what  he  declares  ^ 

is  distinct  in  his  divine  nature. 

Besides,  the  Scriptures  clearly  show  that  this  distinc- 
tion of  Three,  —  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  —  in 
One  God,  is  not  a  mere  technical  mysticism,  but  that  it 
underlies  all  the  doctrines  of  salvation,  pervading  them 
with  a  divine  energy,  which,  if  they  lacked,  they  would 
lose  all  warrant  for  our  trust ;  since  not  only  would 
many  scriptural  statements  respecting  the  processes  of 
redemption  be  utterly  inexplicable,  but  also  witliout  the 
divinity  of  the  Son  there  can  be  no  sufficient  o-round 
for  a  vicarious  atonement,  and  without  the  divinity  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  there  would  be  no  efficient  ao-ent  for  our 
new  birth  and  internal  sanctification  ;  and  we  sliould  re- 
vert to  a  faith,  if  foith  it  could  be  called,  in  a  God  with- 
out a  Mediator,  through  whom  the  sinner  may  approach 
him  and  a  quickening  Power  by  whose  help  we  may  as- 
cend the  living  way  to  life  eternal.  Experience  confirms 
this  in  a  most  melancholy  manner;  for  those  who  are  so 
unhappy  as  to  deny  the  proper  divinity  of  the  Son  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  have  with  scarcely  an  exception 
rejected  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
and  of  a  spiritual  regeneration  by  the  divine  inworkino-. 
They  may  use  the  terms,  but,  if  so,  in  a  sense  utterly 
apart  from  that  of  the  evangelical  Scriptures  ;  nor  will 
tliey  deny  that  an  error  here  on  eitlier  side  must  go 
througli  all  the  Christian  system. 

Let  it  also  be  kept  in  mind  from  the  outset  that  this 
distinction  of  Three,— Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, — 
one  God,  is  purely  a  doctrine  of  Scripture,  and  espec- 
ially of  the  New  Testament,  as  only  from  the  interpret- 
ing light  of  the  later  books  are  we  able  to  see  any 
traces  of  it  under  the  older  covenant.      We  make  no 


198  DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY    STATED.       [Lect.  X. 

amiiment  in  favor  of  it  from  reason  or  the  lioht  of 
nature  ;  Avhat  some  students,  more  enthusiastic  than 
wise,  have  thought  to  be  corroborations  of  it  in  the 
trinities  of  Platonism  and  eastern  mythologies,  though 
starthng  at  first  sight,  Ave  are  compelled  to  reject  as 
unworthy  of  parallelism  with  this  article  of  our  Chris- 
tian faith.  If  we  cannot  find  it  in  Scripture  it  is  to  be 
found  nowhere.  It  is  above  the  discovery  of  reason, 
though  not  contrary  to  reason  when  discovered,  and 
could  have  been  taught  only  by  God  himself,  even  by 
the  Spirit  which  searcheth  the  deep  things  of  God. 
He,  therefore,  who  rejects  the  Scriptures  as  the  only 
infallible  rule  of  faith,  need  go  no  fiirther  with  us,  as 
we  shall  not  leave  their  sacred  platform  to  contend  on 
meaner  ground. 

Nor  will  it  do  for  any  to  object  in  advance,  that  God 
would  reveal  nothing  which  is  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  human  reason,  and,  therefore,  that  anything 
in  the  Scriptures  which  seems  to  teach  this  doctrine 
should  be  either  torn  out  of  the  Book  as  spurious,  or 
so  interpreted  as  to  be  deprived  of  such  meaning. 
That  would  be  to  make  finite  man  the  judge  of  divine 
truth  ;  a  monstrous  assumption  which  limits  the  wis- 
dom of  the  infinite  God  by  our  little  capacity.  Yet 
we  freely  admit  that  God  would  reveal  nothing  contra- 
dictory to  human  reason,  for  then  he  would  be  so  incon- 
sistent with  himself  as  to  demand  from  us  a  faith  he 
had  unfitted  us  to  exercise  ;  but  at  the  same  time  we 
know  that  human  reason  is  finite,  cannot  go  beyond  its 
sphere,  and  is  very  weak  even  within  its  proper  limits ; 
so  that  it  is  one  thing  for  a  doctrine  to  be  above  our 
comprehension,  and  another  to  be  contrary  to  our  un- 
derstanding.     A   doctrine    contrary   to   our  reason   is 


Lect.  X.]         DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TKINITY   STATED.  199 

false ;  as  that  a  thing  may  be  and  not  be  at  the  same 
moment ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  a  doctrine  above 
our  reason  is  false,  as  any  mystery  of  the  divine  nature. 
As  well  might  I  deny  that  nothing  exists  beyond  what 
I  can  hold  in  the  hollow  of  my  hand,  as  that  nothino- 
is  true  beyond  what  I  am  able  to  comprehend  by  my 
mind  ;  else  ignorance  would  be  the  annihilation  of 
truth,  and  the  stupidity  of  the  dunce  who  cannot  un- 
derstand the  Principia  of  Newton  would  put  aside  the 
planetary  system.  There  are  many  scientific  truths 
certainly  demonstrated  that  are  utterly  beyond  the  per- 
ception of  uneducated  men,  nay,  which  seem  to  what 
they  call  common  sense  necessarily  absurd  ;  yet  are 
they  not  the  less  true  or  the  less  conformable  to  right 
reason  ;  and  if  this  be  the  difference  between  the  phi- 
losopher and  a  savage  with  regard  to  material  things, 
what  must  be  the  difference  between  the  best  cultivated 
human  mind  and  the  mind  of  God  respecting  the  mode 
of  his  infinite  adorable  existence  ?  If  he  condescend 
to  give  us  the  highest  proof  of  a  doctrine,  which  is  his 
own  direct  testimony,  it  is,  then,  the  part  of  reason  to 
receive  it  implicitly,  however  mysterious  it  may  be. 

Besides ;  it  is  one  thing  to  know  a  fact,  and  another 
to  know  the  mode  of  a  fact.  We  know  the  fact  of  the 
needle's  tendency  to  the  pole  ;  but  who,  as  yet,  has 
fully  explained  the  reason  of  that  phenomenon  ?  There 
is  no  fact  of  which  all  men  are  more  fully  convinced 
than  that  we  can  control  our  muscles  by  a  mere  effort 
of  will ;  yet  what  physiologist  can  explain  how  this 
control  is  put  within  the  power  of  our  Avill  ?  A  man 
who  should  deny  either  fact  is  a  fool,  and  not  a  philos- 
opher ;  but  what  is  he  who  denies  a  fact  in  the  divine 
nature,  because  he  cannot  measure  God  by  his  foot- 


200  DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY   STATED.      [Lect.  X 

rule?  If  reason  is  at  fault  in  its  searclies  of  our  own 
mode  of  being,  how  may  it  judge  absolutely  of  the 
divine  ?  Let  those  follow  the  dim  lamp  of  reason 
w^iicli  they  have  lighted  from  the  sun, —  we  will  pursue 
no  such  dim  glimmer  ;  it  goes  out  amidst  the  damjjs 
of  death  ;  it  has  never  shone  a  foot  beyond  the  grave  ; 
be  it  ours,  my  brethren,  to  uplift  our  souls  to  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  whose  universal  splendor  so  illustrates 
heaven  and  earth,  that  the  believer,  from  the  promises 
of  time,  gazes  with  realizing  sense  on  the  certain  glories 
of  his  immortality. 

Let  us,  then,  who  are  convinced  that  the  Scriptures 
are  the  testimony  of  God,  study  the  doctrine  of  God 
by  them  revealed  ;  and  receive  it  as  true  because  God 
teaches  it.  In  other  discussions  we  have  premises  from 
which  to  argue,  and  analogies  with  which  to  compare  ; 
but  in  this  we  have  neither,  for  God  is  himself  first  of 
all,  and  infinitely  above  all  parallel.  The  doctrine  be- 
fore VIS  is  one  purely  of  faith  in  the  testimony  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures. 

After  this  preface,  we  go  on  to  state  in  as  precise 
lano-uaiie  as  we  can  the  belief  of  the  Reformed  Churclies 
respecting  the  subsistence  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  in  one^  God  ;  termed  by  Theologians  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  —  Latin  terms  signifying 
Threeness  in  Oneness  ;  or,  more  shortly,  since  all  are 
agreed  as  to  the  unity  of  God,  the  Trinity,  — by  which 
is  meant  the  coexistence  of  Three  distinct  Persons  in 
one  God. 

The  term  Trinity  is  not  found  in  the  Scriptures,  yet 
should  not  on  that  account  be  objected  to,  as  it  is  used 
not  to  convey  any  new  or  extra-scriptural  doctrine, 
but  only  to  express  in  one  word  what  Avould  otherwise 


Lect.  X.]        DOCTRINE  OF   THE  TRINITY   STATED.  201 

require  many.  The  advocates  of  the  doctrine  have 
been  com])elled  to  adopt  this  and  some  other  terms  by 
the  subtle  cavils  and  mischievous  sophistries  of  its  op- 
ponents ;  as  Dr.  Waterland  says  :  "  The  early  Chris- 
tians easily  believed  that  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  whose  name  they  were  baptized,  and 
whom  they  woi'shipped,  were  equally  divine,  without 
troubling  themselves  about  the  manner  of  it,  or  of 
reconciling  it  with  their  belief  in  one  God  ;  as  men 
generally  believe  that  God  foreknows  everything,  and 
that  man,  notwithstanding,  is  a  free  agent,  scarcely  one, 
perhaps,  in  a  thousand,  concerning  himself  how  to 
reconcile  these  two  positions,  or  being  at  all  apprehen- 
sive of  any  difficulty  ;  so,  probably,  these  plain  honest 
Christians  believed  each  of  the  Three  to  be  God,  and 
yet  but  one  God,  and  troubled  not  their  heads  with  any 
nice  speculation  about  the  mode  of  it.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  artless  simplicity  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians till  prying  and  pretending  men  came  to  start  diffi- 
culties and  to  raise  scruples  and  to  make  disturbances, 
and  then  it  was  necessary  to  guard  the  faith  of  the 
Church  against  such  cavils  and  impertinences  as  began 
to  threaten  it.  Philosophy  and  metaphysics  were  called 
in  to  its  assistance,  but  not  till  heretics  had  shown  the 
way,  and  made  it,  in  a  manner,  necessary  for  the  Cath- 
olics (orthodox)  to  encounter  them  with  their  own 
weapons.  Some  new  terms  and  particular  applications 
came  in  by  this  means,  that  such  as  had  a  mind  to  cor- 
rupt or  destroy  the  faith  might  be  defeated  in  their 
purposes."  For  the  same  reason,  the  language  of  some 
early  writers  who  were  firm  believers  in  the  true  doc- 
trine, differs  from,  and  at  first  sight  seems  to  contradict 
that  of  the  later  Church,  but  the  discrepancy  lies  in  the 


202  DOCTRINE  OF   THE  TRINITY   STATED.       [Lect.  X 

meaning  attached  to  these  added  terms  in  subsequent 
centuries. 

1.  We  do  not  differ  except  from  those  who  deny 
that  God  is  one,  or  that  the  Father  is  God,  that  the 
Son  is  God,  or  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God  ;  and  if 
we  are  not  able  to  prove  each  of  these  propositions 
from  Scripture  we   yield  the  controversy. 

2.  When  ^ve  say  that  there  is  this  distinction  of 
Three  in  the  Godhead,  we  mean  that  this  distinction  is 
real  and  not  merely  nominal ;  that  is,  these  names  are 
not  several  names  of  the  Godhead,  as  Caius  Julius 
Cffisar,  are  names  of  one  man  ;  nor  are  they  used  sep- 
arately of  the  Godhead  in  reference  to  the  several 
operations  of  the  Divine  will,  as  that  God  is  called  the 
Father,  in  reference  to  the  Creation  ;  the  Son,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  Redemption  ;  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  reference 
to  the  Sanctification  of  man  ;  hut  that,  as  the  Scriptures 
teach,  these  three  are  so  distinct  from  each  other  as  to 
have  relations  to  each  other.  It  is  absurd  to  speak  of 
a  being  having  relations  to  himself,  because  relativeness 
implies  distinctiveness  between  those  spoken  of  as  re- 
lated. Thus  God  caimot  be  said  to  send  himself,  or  to 
be  sent  by  himself,  or  to  go  forth  from  himself;  yet  the 
Father,  in  Scripture,  is  declared  to  send  the  Son,  the 
Son  to  be  sent  of  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be 
sent  from  both.  The  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  said 
by  the  Scriptures  to  have  coexisted  with  the  Father  at 
the  time  of  the  creation  ;  for  if  it  be  said  that  the  Father 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  it  is  also  said  that 
he  created  the  world  by  his  Son,  and  that  tlie  Spirit  of 
God  moved  on  the  face  of  the  waters ;  whence  also 
God  speaks  as  if  there  were  more  than  one  in  council, 
when  he  said:    "Let  us  make  man;"   i.e.,  Let  us, 


Lect.  X.]      DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY   STATED.  203 

Father  and  Son  and  Spirit,  unite  in  making  man.  Us 
is  plural  though  God  is  one ;  yet  God  said  :  "  Let  us," 
which  indicates  more  than  the  Father.  Hence  it  can- 
not be  that  Father  means  only  God  as  Creator,  since 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit  were  also  engaged  in  the 
work  of  creation.  So  also  the  Father  is  said  to  have 
coexisted  and  cooperated  with  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  work  of  Redemption  :  "  God  so  loved  the 
world  as  to  send  his  only  begotten  Son  ;  "  the  Son  him- 
self took  part  of  flesh  and  blood  ;  the  Holy  Ghost  over- 
shadowed the  Virgin  Mary,  and  she  conceived  that  holy 
Thing  which  she  brought  forth  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Here  are  three  separate  acts  imputed  to  three  separate 
agents.  Hence  it  cannot  be  that  Son  only  means  God 
as  Saviour,  since  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost  were 
also  engaged  in  the  work  of  salvation.  So  also  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  said  to  coexist  and  cooperate 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  work  of  Sanctification  : 
"  When  the  Comforter  (whom  he  declares  in  another 
place  to  be  the  Holy  Ghost)  is  come,"  saith  our 
Lord,  "  whom  I  will  send  mito  you  from  the  Father, 
even  the  Spirit  of  truth  which  proceedeth  from  the 
Father,  he  shall  testify  of  me."  The  Apostle  Jude 
speaks  of  those  that  are  sanctified  of  God  the  Father  ; 
the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  attributes  sanctification  to 
the  Son,  when  he  says :  "  Both  he  that  sanctificth  and 
they  who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one  ;  for  which  cause 
he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren  ;  "  the  Apostle 
Paul  declares  the  converted  Gentiles  to  be  "  sanctified 
by  the  Holy  Ghost."  Here  are  then  several  agents  in 
the  one  work  ;  and  in  the  first-cited  text  three  separate 
acts  in  this  one  work  ;  the  Son  praying  the  Father  to 
send  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Father  sending   the   Holy 


20-i  DOCTRINE   OF    THE   TRINITY    STATED.      [Lect.  X. 

Spirit,  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeding  from  the  Father  and 
testifying  of  the  Son.  Hence  it  cannot  be  that  Holy 
Ghost  is  only  the  title  of  God  as  Sanctifier,  since  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  also  engaged  in  the  work  of 
sanctification.  The  same  council  of  Three  which  said  : 
"  Let  us  make  man,"  said  also,  "  Let  us  redeem  man,"' 
and,  "  Let  us  sanctify  him."  To  mark  the  error  we 
are  contending  against,  let  us  put  the  simple  name  of 
God  in  the  place  of  the  three  personal  names  which  it 
is  asserted  mean  only  God  acting  in  each  of  his  three 
great  works,  and  it  will  strike  you  at  once  as  absurd : 
God  prays  to  God  that  he  would  send  forth  God ;  or 
again  :  God  sanctifies  through  God  by  God  ;  or  again  : 
through  God  we  have  access  by  one  God  to  God.  But 
how  clear,  and  in  accordance  with  Scripture,  it  is  when 
we  say :  God  the  Father  sanctifies  through  God  the 
Son,  by  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  When  we  assert  that  the  Father  then  is  God,  the 
Son  is  God,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  God,  we  do  not  mean 
that  there  are  three  Gods,  but  that  each  is  diN'ine.  For 
when  we  speak  of  one  God,  we  mean  by  God  one 
divine  Being  ;  but  when  we  speak  of  each  of  the  three 
as  God,  we  do  not  mean  the  divine  substance,  but  that 
each  is  divine  or  subsisting  in,  or  partaking  of,  this 
divine  Being  or  Essence,  which  is  but  the  Latin  sj'n- 
onym  for  Being.  Thus  the  syllogism  by  which  the 
Unitarian  would  drive  us  to  absurdity,  fails  :  "  There 
is  one  God  ;  but  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  each  God  ;  therefore  there  are  three  Gods ;  " 
for  God  in  the  minor  is  not  of  the  same  sense  as  God 
in  the  major.  The  true  form  of  the  syllogism  is: 
There  is  one  divine  essence  ;  but  there  are  three  that 
are  divine  :  therefore  there  are  Three  in  the  one  divine 


L,ECT    X.J      DOCTRINE   OF   THE   TRINITY   STATED.  205 

essence ;  or,  as  the  Catechism  states  it,  "  There  are  three 
distinct  Persons  in  the  one  only  true  and  eternal  God  ;  " 
by  which  is  meant  that  each  Person  is  divine,  —  God, 
bnt  not  the  Godhead,  —  and  that  the  Godhead  is  one 
but  three  Persons.  Do  any  start  from  this  as  though  it 
were  impossible  that  three  should  be  as  one,  and  one 
as  three  ;  we  bid  them  remember  that  God  is  infinite, 
and,  therefore,  as  Ave  cannot  comprehend  infinite,  we 
cannot  comprehend  the  mode  in  which  the  infinite  God 
exists.  Each  man  has  in  him  a  trinity  :  his  body,  his 
soul,  and  his  animal  life  ;  yet  is  he  one  person.  Even 
material  substances  may  be  composed  of  two,  three,  or 
many  constituent  elements,  yet  each  substance  so  com- 
posed is,  as  respects  its  aggregation,  one  thing.  Shall 
we  then  dare  to  deny  that  there  may  be  three  in  the 
divine  being  of  one  substance  ? 

4.  But  as  we  have  employed  the  term  Per-soyi,  we 
must  define  what  we  understand  by  it,  when  the  truth 
of  the  doctrine  will  be  yet  more  apparent. 

The  term  person  is  employed  somcAvhat  in  an  arbi- 
trary sense,  as  it  is  not  possible  for  the  human  mind  to 
understand,  or  for  any  language  to  declare  the  distin- 
guishing properties  of  the  Three  in  the  adorable  God- 
head.    It  assists,  however,  better  than  any  other. 

a.  By  person,  we  mean  one  possessed  of  a  distinct 
understanding  and  will.  Thus  the  Scriptures  distin- 
guish between  the  understanding  of  the  Father,  and 
that  of  the  Son,  and  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  No 
man  knoweth  the  Son,"  saith  our  Lord,  "but  the  Father, 
neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father  save  the  Son,  and 
he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  him."  Again  : 
"  He  that  searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind 
of  the  Spirit ;  "  again  :  "  God  hath  revealed  them  (the 


206  DOCTRINE  OF   THE  TRINITY   STATED.        [Lect.  X. 

things  of  the  Gospel)  unto  us  by  his  Spirit ;  for  the 
Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God." 
Again,  the  Saviour  saitli :  "  He  (the  Holy  Ghost)  shall 
glorify  me  ;  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine  and  shall  show 
it  unto  you.  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine, 
therefore  said  I,  he  shall  take  of  mine  and  shall  show 
it  unto  you."  It  is  clear  that  in  these  texts,  not  one 
but  three  are  spoken  of.  So,  also,  is  the  will  of  the 
Father  distinguished  from  the  will  of  the  Son,  and  that 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  either.  "  I  came  down  from 
heaven,"  saith  the  Saviour,  "  not  to  do  mine  own  will, 
but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me."  Again  :  "  Father, 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt ; "  and  in  some  afore- 
cited text,  we  read  of  God  "  knowing  the  will  of  the 
Spirit,"  and  of  the  Spirit  acting  from  his  own  will  sep- 
arately from  the  Father  and  from  the  Son,  The  will 
of  each  is  ever  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  other 
two,  so  that  the  will  of  God  is  one  ;  but  as  they  each 
exercise  will,  they  are  distinct  Persons. 

h.  We  use  person^  to  signify  relative  distinction. 
Hence  we  call  I,  thou,  he,  we,  you,  they,  personal  pro- 
nouns. Such  personal  relations  the  Scriptures  declare 
exist  in  the  Godhead.  Thus,  the  Saviour  saith  ;  "  I 
will  pray  the  Father  and  he  will  send  you  anothe;^" 
Comforter."  Here  the  Son  speaks,  the  Father  is  spoken 
to,  and  the  Spirit  is  spoken  of.  We  need  not  multiply 
passages  though  we  might. 

c.  So,  also,  we  use  the  word  person,  because  we  find 
distinct  personal  acts  and  offices  attributed  to  each  of 
the  adorable  Three.  Thus  the  Father  accepts,  the  Son 
redeems,  the  Spirit  quickens. 

d.  But  let  it  be  carefully  remembered  that  when  we 
speak  of  Three  Persons   in  the  Godhead,  we  do  not 


Lect.  X.]      DOCTKINE  OF   THE  TRINITY   STATED.  207 

mean  that  they  are  separate  as  three  human  or  created 
persons  are  separate.  This  we  deny ;  for  they  are  of 
one  essence  or  nature,  not  of  the  same  common  nature 
as  three  men  are  of  a  common  humanity,  but  actually 
of  one  being,  not  three  beings.  Such  a  distinction  is, 
we  admit,  incompatible  with  oneness  in  any  finite  being ; 
but  it  is  not  incompatible  with  the  Oneness  of  the  infi- 
nite, because  finiteness  has  parts,  infinity  must  be  ever 
one.  We  are  not  ashamed  to  confess  that  we  cannot 
explain,  for  we  do  not  know  how  these  three  Persons 
coexist  as  one  Being,  but  we  believe  that  they  do,  be- 
cause the  Scripture  says  that  they  do.  If  God  could 
be  understood  by  us,  he  would  cease  to  be  God  ;  as 
an  eminent  thinker  (Daniel  Webster)  is  reported  to 
have  said  :  "  The  arithmetic  of  infinity  is  not  for  us  to 
cipher." 

Nor  shall  we  attempt  as  some  have  done  to  illustrate 
these  truths  by  other  examples,  because  there  can  be 
no  analogy  ;  yet  we  might  show  the  inconsistency  of 
men  who  consider  the  Trinity  of  the  Godhead  contrary 
to  reason,  yet  beheve  greater  difficulties  every  day  of 
their  lives.  Thus  :  A,  B,  and  C,  may  be  distinct  from 
each  other  in  a  property,  D,  yet  be  one  in  a  relation 
to  E.  The  three  sides  of  a  triangle  are  distinct  from 
each  other  and  may  be  equal,  yet  they  constitute  one 
triangle.  We  do  not  contend  that  these  cases  are 
analogous  to  the  Divine  Trinity,  yet,  if  there  may  be 
tri-unity  in  an  algebraic  formula,  or  a  mathematical 
figure,  who  dare  deny  that  it  may  in  the  Godhead? 
Again:  The  sovereign  authority  of  an  Italian  city 
was  once  vested  in  a  council,  known  by  one  name  ; 
that  council  was  composed  of  three  equal  members  ;  as 
respects  the  action  ad  extra  (externally)  of  the  council. 


208  DOCTRINE   OF   THE  TRINITY   STATED.       [Lect.  X. 

it  was  one ;  as  respects  the  action  of  the  three  ad  infra 
(or  in  their  relation  to  each  otlier)  they  were  distinct. 
The  illustration,  we  admit,  is  not  complete,  because  the 
Supreme  God  is  infinitely  above  any  human  autliority  ; 
but  does  it  not  fully  meet  the  objection  that  a  tri-unity 
is  impossible  ? 

5.  The  Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead  are  equal 
each  to  each.  On  this  we  need  not  enlarge,  for  if  our 
previous  reasoning  be  received,  the  co-equality  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  must 
follow. 

a.  If  each  of  the  Three  Persons  be  divine,  each 
must  be  possessed  of  divine  attributes  ;  but  the  divine 
attributes  are  infinite,  and  infinity  is  not  separable  into 
pai'ts  ;  therefore  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  must  be  equal,  else  one  infinity  Avould  be  greater 
than  another  infinity,  which  is  impossible. 

h.  Divine  worship  is  homage  to  the  Supreme  author- 
ity ;  and  such  worship  is  demanded  for  each  of  the 
Three  divine  Persons  ;  therefore  they  must  be  equal, 
else  they  could  not  receive  each  the  homage  due  to  the 
Supreme. 

c.  If  it  be  objected  that  the  Scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament  often  represent  the  Father  as  superior  to  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  subordinate  to  both  ;  we 
answer  that  all  such  passages  will  be,  on  examination, 
found  to  refer  to  the  working  out  of  the  redemption, 
and  describe  not  the  orio;inal  or  natural  relations  of  the 
Three  to  each  other,  but  the  official  distinctions  they 
have  voluntarily  assumed  to  each  other  in  the  remedial 
scheme  :  The  Father,  as  the  Representative  of  the 
Godhead  ;  The  Son,  as  the  incarnate  representation  of 
man  ;  and,  therefore,   in  the  form   of  servant  to  th" 


Lect.  X.]        DOCTRINE  OF   THE  TRINITY   STATED.  209 

Father ;  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  efficient  agent  of 
both.  In  the  essential  constitution  of  the  Godhead, 
they  are,  and  have  been  from  all  eternity,  and  will 
be  to  all  eternity,  equal.  Is  it  rejoined  that  the 
relation  of  a  son  to  a  father  necessarily  implies 
inferiority  ?  We  answer  :  Those  names  cannot  be 
applied  to  the  first  two  persons  of  the  Godhead  in  the 
same  sense  as  in  the  human  relation,  since  the  Son 
is  eternally  existent  with  the  Father ;  but  are  used  to 
'.ndicate  that  the  Son  is  of  the  same  nature  with  the 
Father,  as  the  begotten  is  of  the  same  nature  with  the 
begetter.  Neither  is  it  true,  that  a  son  is  necessarily 
inferior  to  the  father,  but  only  while  under  age  ;  in 
adult  years,  a  son  takes  his  place  by  the  side  of  his 
father,  nay,  comes  to  be,  from  the  decrepitude  of  the 
aged  parent,  in  every  way  besides  that  of  aftectionate 
reverence,  superior  to  his  father.  The  divine  Father 
and  the  divine  Son  have  no  such  changes,  and  there- 
fore there  is  nothing  in  the  terms  Father  and  Son 
wdiich  supposes  the  one  to  be  greater  in  authority  than 
the  other. 

Here,  for  the  present,  we  rest  our  exposition,  the 
nice  technicalities  of  which  have  been  required  to 
guard  our  faith  from  the  uncandid  attacks  of  its  oppo- 
nents. 

PRACTICAL    INFERENCES. 

First :  In  all  our  studies  of  God,  we  should  humble 
our  reason  at  the  feet  of  Divine  Wisdom.  What 
know  we  of  God  beyond  what  he  has  revealed  of 
himself  ? 

Secondly :  We  should  confidently  trust  the  great 
Three  in  One  for  our  whole  salvation  ;  the  Spirit  for 
his  sanctifying  grace  ;  the  Son  for  his  prevalent  media- 

VOL.    I.  14 


210  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY  STATED.      [Lect.  X. 

tion  ;  the  Father  for  his  adopting  love  ;  God  the  Spirit 
within  us  ;  God  the  Father  above  us  ;  God  the  Son 
between  us  and  God  the  Father. 

Thirdly:  We  should  ever  thankfully  adore  with 
equal  praises,  The  Father,  The  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  —  the  One  God,  the  God  of  our  salvation. 


LECTURE  XI. 
FAITH   IN   GOD   THE   FATHER. 


NINTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
FAITH   IN   GOD   THE   FATHER. 

Quest.  XXVI.  What  believest  thou,  when  thou  sayesl:  "  /  believe  in  God, 
the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  oj" heaven  and  eai-th"  ? 

Ans.  That  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (who  of  nothing 
made  heaven  and  earth  and  all  that  is  in  them;  who  likewise  upholds 
and  governs  the  same  by  his  eternal  counsel  and  providence)  is  for  the 
sake  of  Christ  his  Son,  my  God  and  Father,  on  whom  I  rely  so  entirely 
that  I  have  no  douht  but  he  will  provide  me  with  all  things  neces- 
sary for  soul  and  body ;  and  that  he  will  make  whatever  evils  he 
sends  upon  me  in  this  valley  of  tears  turn  out  for  my  advantage;  for  he 
is  able  to  do  it,  being  Almighty  God,  and  willing,  being  a  faithful  Father. 

IT  is  necessary  here,  and,  indeed,  throughout  our 
study  of  the  Catechism,  to  be  mindful  of  what  was 
stated  at  the  beginning  of  our  exposition,  that  the 
answers  given  are  supposed  to  come  from  tlie  mouth  of 
a  true  Christian ;  and,  therefore,  not  only  is  very 
strong  language  used,  but,  also,  the  order  is  rather  that 
of  Christian  experience  than  of  systematic  theology. 
We  shall  not,  however,  err,  if,  in  opening  the  truths 
taught  by  the  section  for  this  (Ninth)  Lord's  Day,  and 
the  one  following,  we  do  not  confine  ourselves  to  the 
course  suggested  by  the  words  ; '  but  unite,  as  far  as  we 
can,  the  theoretical  with  the  experimental,  the  doctrinal 
with  the  practical.  You  will  also  please  to  note,  that 
the  lesson  for  the  Tenth  Lord's  Day  is  an  expansion  of 
this  for  the  Ninth,  and  that  the  edifying  inferences  are 
from  the  whole,  allowing  us  to  reserve  until  our  next 
Lecture  several  important  things,  which  ought,  other- 
wise, to  be  treated  of  to-day. 

We   are   now  to  inquire   (Quest,  and  Ans.  26th)  : 


214  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

What  a  Christian  professes  when  he  says  :  '■^  I  believe  in 
God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  "  f 

If  we  ascertain, 

First  :  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  divine  title  : 
Crod,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,""^ 
we  shall  know, 

Secondly  :  What  is  the  doctrine  held  by  us  when  ive 
assert  this  first  article  of  the  Creed. 

First  :  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  divine  title  : 
God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earths 

In  our  last  Lecture  we  took  pains  to  show  from  the 
Scriptures,  that  there  is  One  Divine  Essence,  and  in  the 
One  Divine  Essence  three  distinct  Persons,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.  Upon  this  distinction  and  order  of 
Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  as  set  forth  in  the  for- 
mula for  Christian  baptism,  our  Christian  Creed  is 
founded.  Hence  the  holy  and  reverend  name  of  God 
is  used  to  signify  the  one  divine  Being  in  Three  Persons, 
and  also  each  of  the  Three  Persons  as  divine.  There- 
fore, this  first  article  of  the  Creed  relates  to  God  the 
Father,  the  First  Person  in  the  ever-adorable  Godhead. 

It  was  also  shown  that,  while  the  distinction  of 
Three  in  the  one  God  is  eternal,  the  mode  of  their  co- 
existence is  utterly  beyond  our  comprehension  ;  but 
when  the  names.  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  are 
used  with  reference  to  the  plan  of  redemj^tion,  they 
have  a  significance  which  we  can  better  understand  ; 
and,  as  the  Christian  Creed  is  meant  to  set  forth  spe- 
cially God  in  our  redemption,  it  is  of  the  First  Person 
that  we  here  speak  of  as  God,  the  Father,  and  of  him 
as  engaged  with  God  the  Son  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  economy  of  saving  grace.  In  that  economy,  ac- 
cording to  the  eternal  counsel  and  covenant  of  the  Three 


Lect.  XL]  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  215 

Divine  Persons,  each  assumes  his  pecuHar  office ;  and 
while  the  Son  executes  the  work  necessary  for  our 
redemption,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  applies  the  benefits  of 
that  work  to  the  believer,  the  Father  is  constituted  the 
representative  of  the  Godhead  and  vindicator  of  its 
honors  ;  and,  therefore,  officially  the  source  and  end  of 
the  scheme,  to  Avhom  we  must  go  for  acceptance  through 
the  Son  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  as  the  Apostle  says  : 
"  Through  him  (i.  e.  Christ)  we  have  access  by  one 
Spirit  to  the  Father." 

You  will  observe,  however,  that,  by  a  difference  in 
punctuation,  this  article  may  read :  I  believe  in  God ; 
the  Father  Almighty,  etc.,  i.  e.  I  believe  in  God,  viz : 
in  "  the  Father,  ....  and  in  .  .  his  only  begotten 
Son,  .  .  .  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  According  to  this 
reading,  the  Creed  asserts  first  the  unity  of  God,  in  op- 
position to  those  heretics  who  contended  for  more  gods 
than  one,  and  in  refutation  of  those  who  reproach 
believers  in  the  Trinity  with  believing  in  three  Gods. 
There  is  in  the  history  and  comparison  of  the  Creed,  as 
adopted  by  different  portions  of  the  earlier  church,* 
some  little  ground  for  this  view ;  but  as  the  difference 
is  not  essential,  and  as  we  have  already  proved  the 
unity  of  the  true  God,  we  shall  adopt  the  ordinary 
acceptation. 

With  this  preface  we  proceed.  Crod,  the  Father  Al- 
mighty^ 3Iaker  of  heaven  and  earth. 

Here  are  several  titles  of  the  First  Person  in  the 
Godhead  combined  :  The  I.  absolute,  God ;  the  II. 
relative.  The  Father  ;  the  III.  characteristic.  Al- 
mighty ;  the  IV.  executive,  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth. 

*  See  King  and  others  on  The  Creed. 


216  FAITH  IN  GOD   THE  FATHER.  [Leci    XT. 

I.  God.  —  This  is  an  absolute  term  for  that  ineffable 
mode  of  being  in  which  God  exists  alone,  independently 
of  all  his  creatures,  offices,  and  acts.  For  although, 
because  of  his  authority  over  us,  and  of  our  derivation 
of  all  we  are  and  have  from  him,  we  are  accustomed 
to  consider  God  in  connection  with  his  infinite  sover- 
eignty, and  the  effects  of  his  will ;  he  would  be  not 
the  less  God  if  there  were  no  being  animate  or  inanimate 
in  the  universe  but  he.  We  can,  therefore,  attempt 
no  definition  of  the  word  God,  used  thus  absolutely. 
He  himself  has  given  us  none.  "  I  am  that  I  am,"  said 
he  to  Moses ;  and  again  by  the  prophet :  "  I  am  Je- 
hovah (the  Lord),  and  besides  me  there  is  none  else." 
The  composition  of  the  name  Jehovah  has  the  same 
meaning,  —  being  of  two  words  signifying  existence,  — 
existing  ;  which  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  imply- 
ing his  eternity,  but  the  mode  of  being  in  which  he  is 
eternal.  Josephus  calls  Jehovah  "  the  shudder-causing 
name  of  God  ;  "  and  the  Jews  never  pronounced  it,  such 
was  their  awful  reverence  for  its  inscrutable  meaning. 

We  need  not  stay  to  prove  this  essential  Divinity  or 
Godship  of  the  Father,  seeing  that  it  is  disputed  by  none, 
—  Jew,  Mohammedan,  Arian,  Socinian,  or  Sabellian,  — 
who  contend  against  us  only  because  we  impute  per- 
sonal divinity  also  to  the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
but  all  are  united  with  us  in  calling  the  Father  God. 

II.  God,  the  Father .  —  Father  is  a  relative  term,  im- 
plying that  there  is  one  or  more  of  whom,  or  to  whom, 
a  father  is  father.  We  use  it  to  signify  the  author  of 
life  in  a  conscious  being,  as  a  man  is  of  the  child  he 
has  begotten,  or  the  Creator  of  men  and  angels.  This 
is  its  first  and  radical  sense. 

From  this  it  comes  to  signify  one  who  extends  over 


Lt<JT.  XI.]  FAITH  IN   GOD   THE  FATHER.  217 

another  or  others  such  care  as  a  father  lias  for  his  ofF- 
sprincr.  So  Job  was  "  a  father  to  the  poor,"  because 
he  felt  for  their  wants  and  supplied  them.  Often  it 
implies  instruction,  as  followers  of  an  eminent  teacher 
(Socrates,  for  example)  address  him  as  their  father  ; 
and  as  the  apostles  Paul  and  John  call  those  whom 
they  instruct  their  children.  It  also  may  include  gov- 
ernment and  protection,  as  king's  are  spoken  to  by  their 
subjects  by  the  name  of  Sire  ;  and  as  our  Indian  tribes 
call  our  President  their  Great  Father. 

It  may,  therefore,  designate  a  natural  relation,  an 
affectionate  relation,  or  an  authoritative  relation  ;  and 
these  three  senses  may  be  combined  by  the  word. 

When  we  speak  of  God  the  Father,  we  may  use  the 
phrase  with  one  of  two  references.  1.  We  may  speak 
of  the  First  Person  of  the  Trinity  in  his  relation  to  the 
other  two  Persons,  but  particularly  in  his  peculiar  re- 
lation to  the  Second  ;  as  when  it  is  said :  "  God  sent 
forth  his  Son  ;  "  and  Christ  says :  "  I  go  unto  my 
Father."  Or,  2.  We  may  speak  of  God  the  Father 
in  the  relation  which  he,  with  merciful  condescension, 
sustains  to  his  intelligent  creatures,  and  especially 
through  Christ  to  the  new  creatures  of  his  grace.  Thus 
the  Catechism  here:  "I  beheve  that  the  eternal  Father 

of  our  Lord   Jesus   Christ, is,  for  the  sake  of 

Christ  his  Son,  my  God  and  Father." 

1.  We  speak  of  the  First  Person  in  the  Trinity  in 
his  relation  to  the  other  two,  but  particularly  his  pecul- 
iar relation  to  the  Second,  who  is  called  the  Son. 

The  Three  Persons  in  the  Godhead  are,  as  we  took 
pains  in  a  former  discourse  to  show,  originally  and 
essentially  equal.  They  are  divine  ;  and,  as  Deity  is 
essentially  supreme,  there  can  be  no  natural  superiority 


£18  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

of  one  o^'er  another.  They  are  divine  ;  and,  as  Deity 
is  essentially  self-existent,  therefore  eternal,  no  one 
could  be  before  another  ;  they  must  have  coexisted 
from  all  eternity.  As  the  Father  is  eternal,  so  is  the 
Son  eternal,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  eternal.  But  in  the 
Scriptures  the  First  Person  is  called  the  Father  ;  the 
Second,  the  Son  ;  the  Third,  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  spoken 
of  as  sent  from  both. 

Yet,  as  we  have  seen,  these  relations  cannot,  from 
the  essential  properties  of  the  Holy  and  Divine  Per- 
sons, imply  any  difference  in  rank  or  order  of  being. 
They  are  relations  we  cannot  understand,  the  mystery 
arising  from  the  incomprehensibility  of  God  by  our 
finite  minds.  The  terms  employed  by  theologians,  as 
"  eternal  generation  "  and  "  procession,"  and  the  like, 
though  useful  as  technicalities  of  science,  really  throw  no 
light  on  the  subject;  nor  can  they  themselves  be  farther 
explained,  although  the  offices  which  the  several  Per- 
sons hold  in  the  redemption  are  clearly  distinguishable. 

It  is,  however,  to  the  Second  Person  that  the  First 
bears,  peculiarly,  the  relation  of  Father.  As  Jehovah 
said  unto  David,  the  royal  type  of  Christ,  and,  there- 
fore, according  to  the  writer  of  the.  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  prophetically  of  Christ  himself:  "  I  will  be 
his  Father,  and  he  shall  be  my  Son  ;  "  and  again  in  the 
Second  Psalm,  which  we  know  on  the  same  authority 
(and  from  the  strain  of  the  Psalm  itself)  refers  also  to 
Christ,  God  says  by  solemn  decree :  "  Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee."  "  This  day  "  — 
that  is  in  eternity  ;  —  from  all  eternity  he  is  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God  the  Father. 

a.  He  is  liis  Father,  because  of  that  ineffable  rela- 
tion subsistincr  between  them  in  the  Godhead. 


LacT.  XI.]  FAITH  IN   GOD  THE  FATHER.  219 

b.  He  Is  his  Father,  because  the  Begotten  is  of  the 
same  nature  with  the  Begetter. 

c.  He  is  his  Father,  because  the  Son  is  appointed  to 
appear  acknowledged  as  the  representative  to  receive 
honor  in  liis  Father's  name. 

d.  He  is  his  Father,  because,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  he 
begat  his  human  nature  in  a  miraculous  manner. 

e.  He  is  his  Father,  because  he  raised  him  up  from 
the  dead,  so  giving  him  a  renewed  life. 

/.  He  is  his  Father,  because  he  constitutes  him  the 
head  of  that  spiritual  family  which  he  has  adopted  for 
the  sake  of  the  Son,  from  among  the  fallen  race  of  men. 

For  all  these  reasons,  the  Catechism  speaks  of  God 
the  Father  as  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  eternal,  because  himself  eternal ;  eternal,  be- 
cause from  all  eternity  the  Father  of  the  Second  Per- 
son, who,  at  the  fulness  of  time,  became  incarnate 
for  us. 

2.  In  vising  the  title  God  the  Father,  we  may  speak 
of  the  First  Person  in  the  relation  he  sustains  to  his 
intelligent  creatures. 

a.  God  the  Father  is  our  Father,  because  he  is  the 
author  of  our  being.  He  created  us  as  he  created  all 
things.  We  came  into  existence  only  through  the 
efficient  ^a^  of  his  will.  The  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
cooperated  with  him  in  the  divine  work  ;  for  the  Son 
is  the  Eternal  Word  by  whom  the  worlds  were  made, 
and  "  without  whom  there  was  not  anything  made  that 
was  made ;  "  and  the  Holy  Ghost  was  the  Spirit  that 
moved  on  the  face  of  the  chaotic  deep,  and  that  breathed 
into  man's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  ;  yet,  as  we  are 
taught  to  recognize  in  the  First  Person  the  representa- 
tive of  the  combined  honors  of  the  Godhead,  we  ascribe 


220  FAITH  m  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

to  him  the  official  work  of  creation  through  the  Word 
hj  the  Holy  Spirit, 

b.  He  is  our  Father,  because  he  is  our  Teacher, 
having  given  us  intelligent  souls,  and  instructing  us  by 
his  works,  his  Word,  and  his  Spirit. 

c.  He  is  our  Father,  because,  knowing  the  wants  of 
our  nature,  physical  and  moral,  he  feels  for  us,  Avatches 
over  us,  and  supplies  us  with  that  which  we  need. 

d.  He  is  our  Father,  because  he  is,  in  the  same  man- 
ner, our  Protector,  so  that  nothing  can  affect  us  but  by 
his  order  or  permission  ;  while,  as  our  Sovereign  Ruler, 
he  msists  upon  our  entire  obedience,  chastening  us  when 
we  stray,  and  punishing  us  if  we  be  obstinately  im- 
penitent. 

In  these  senses  God  is  a  Father  to  all  his  intelligent 
creatures,  though  his  chastening  of  those  who  err  be- 
longs more  properly  to  the  dispensation  of  grace. 

But,  as  the  First  Person  is  peculiarly  the  Father  of 
the  Second  Person,  who  became  incarnate  as  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  so  is  he  in  a  peculiar  manner  the  Father 
of  penitent  sinners  among  men,  who,  believing  on  Clirist, 
the  appointed  Saviour,  are  represented  by  Christ  the 
Son  of  God.  We  have  by  our  sins  forfeited  our  origi- 
nal right  and  natural  claim  to  our  Maker's  regard,  and, 
having  lost  the  image  of  God,  there  is  in  us  nothing 
correspondent  to  the  divine  holiness.  Before  we  can 
be  restored  to  our  primeval  estate  of  favor,  our  sins 
must  be  expiated  ;  we  must  have  a  new  righteousness 
which  may  recommend  us  to  his  approval  ;  we  must 
have  a  new  nature  in  which  we  can  hold  communion 
with  liim.  That  expiation  he  has  provided  for  us  by 
the  death  of  Christ ;  that  righteousness  has  been 
wrought  out  for  us  by  the  active  obedience  of  Christ ; 


Lect.  XI.J  faith  in  GOD  THE  FATHER.  221 

that  new  nature  is  created  in  us  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
the  divine  image  being  renewed  in  our  souls.  These 
benefits  become  ours  the  moment  that  we  receive  them 
and  apply  them  to  ourselves  by  faith  in  Christ,  which 
is  an  acceptance  of  him  as  our  atoning  Mediator  with 
the  Father,  and  a  reliance  on  his  merits  alone  for  our 
justification  in  the  sight  of  God.  This  faith  unites  us 
to  Christ ;  he  becomes  our  Head,  we  become  members 
of  his  body.  We  are  then  found  in  him  ;  we  in  him 
look  to  God ;  God  looks  upon  us  in  him  ;  and,  as  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  God,  we  become  by  him  children  of  God. 

We  are  his  children,  because  we  are  begotten  again 
by  his  power ;  because  we  have  the  right  (a  right 
through  grace,  but  still  a  right)  of  children  ;  and  be- 
cause God  formally,  absolutely  adopts  us  as  his  children, 
making  us  objects  of  his  affectionate  care,  instruction, 
and  discipline,  reflections  of  his  image,  and  heirs  of  his 
kingdom  above.  "  To  as  many  as  i-eceived  him  (i.  e. 
Christ),  to  them  gave  he  power  (prerogative)  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name." 

III.  God,  the  Father  Almighty.  —  This  title,  charac- 
teristic of  his  power,  is  in  some  versions  of  the  Creed 
joined  to  "  Father,"  in  others  to  "  Maker  of  heaven 
and  earth  ; "  but  the  difference  is  little  whether  we 
speak  of  God  as  the  Father  Almighty  or  as  the  Al- 
mighty Creator,  since  our  Father  and  the  Creator  are 
one  and  the  same,  —  our  gracious  and  faithful  Lord 
God.  He  could  not  be  the  Creator  were  he  not 
almighty  ;  nor  could  he  be  our  Father  were  he  not 
the  Creator.  It  is  his  boundless  power  which  warrants 
and  demands  our  sole  and  entire  trust  in  him,  accord- 
ing to  his  promises  of  merciful  love  through  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  and  Lord. 


222  FAITH  IN   GOD   THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

Wlien  we  say  that  He  is  almighty,  "we  mean  that  he 
can  do  what  it  pleases  liim  to  do,  and  prevent  Avhat  it 
pleases  him  to  prevent,  and  overrule  what  any  of  his 
creatures  may  do  in  disregard  of  his  authority,  for  his 
own  ends  and  his  own  glory.  It  is  worse  than  idle  and 
impertinent  to  ask  if  God  can  do  anything  inconsistent 
with  his  holiness,  or  anything  not  conformed  to  the 
nature  of  things  which  he  has  ordained.  It  pleases 
him  to  do  nothing  of  the  sort ;  it  is  morally  impossible 
that  anything  inconsistent  can  occur  in  his  acts ;  but 
his  power  is  limited  only  by  his  will.  How  great  his 
power  is  we  cannot  know,  for  it  is  infinitely  above  our 
thoughts ;  yet,  that  it  is  unbounded,  we  easily  discover 
in  his  acts.  He  who  can  make  the  least  thins:;  out  of 
nothing,  must  be  able  to  make  what  he  pleases  out  of 
nothino; ;  and  he  who  has  thus  made  all  thino-s  must 
be  able  to  control  all  things.  Think  what  power  there 
is  in  that  will  which  at  once  brought  all  things  into 
existence ;  which  since  maintains  them  in  existence,  and 
repeats  or  multiplies  many  of  them  by  such  nice,  grad- 
ual, wonderfully  adapted  laws  and  instrumentalities. 
What  power  there  is  in  the  wind,  the  fluxes  of  the 
waters,  the  expansion  of  heat,  the  contraction  of  cold, 
the  electric  fire,  and  the  magnetic  attraction  !  What 
power  there  is  in  the  motion  of  all  the  radiant  worlds 
throughout  all  space,  and  their  restraint  to  their  har 
monious  orbits  by  the  centrifugal  and  centripetal  forces  ! 
What  power  there  is  in  the  upheaving  from  the  soil  of 
the  vegetating  seeds  that  cover  the  earth  with  verdure, 
and  the  vital  sap  that  nourishes  and  perfects  plant  and 
shrub  and  vine  and  tree  !  What  power  there  is  in  the 
strength  put  forth  by  all  animated  beings !  Think, 
also,  that  this  power  is  irresistibly  exerted  and  felt  at 


Lect.  XL]  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  223 

once,  constantly,  everywhere  !  Yet  is  all  this  power 
his.  Nay,  these  are  parts  of  his  works  ;  and  we  know 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  vast  effects  which  result  from 
his  will ;  nor  can  we  deny  that  he  who  has  done,  or 
is  doing,  what  we  now  must  ascribe  to  God,  may,  if  it 
pleases  him,  accomplish  infinitely  more.  In  a  word, 
his  power  has  no  bounds  ;  he  is  almighty. 

IV.  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth.  —  This  we  have 
called  an  executive  title,  because  it  represents  God  the 
Father  not  merely  possessed  of  infinite  power,  but  as 
exerting  it  in  the  first  great  work  of  his  will,  which  is 
the  basis  or  beginning  of  all  his  system  of  operations, 
at  least  of  all  that  concern  our  race. 

The  making  of  heaven  and  earth  by  God  the  Father 
Almighty,  is  so  vast  a  subject  that  to  discuss  or  even 
speak  of  all  the  things  which  closely  relate  to  it,  would 
exhaust  the  longest  lifetime ;  and,  if  the  pen  were  em- 
ployed, "  I  suppose  that  even  the  world  itself  could  not 
contain  the  books  that  should  be  written."  We  must, 
therefore,  confine  ourselves  to  a  statement  of  a  few  gen- 
eral  heads,  under  which  all  may  be  arranged,  with  such 
brief  comments  as  ai'e  required  for  our  practical  use  of 
the  matter,  and  shall  treat  1st,  Of  the  making;  2d, 
Of  what  was  made  ;  3d,  Of  the  time  of  the  making. 

1st.  Of  the  making.  The  translators  of  the  Creed 
into  our  vernacular  have  evidently  endeavored  to  use, 
as  far  as  possible,  purely  English  words,  for  the  better 
understanding  of  the  common  people ;  and,  here,  have 
chosen  the  verb  to  make  as  the  only  Saxon  one  by 
which  the  idea  can  be  at  all  expressed.  Yet  making 
does  not  give  the  whole  sense  implied  ;  for  a  man  may 
make  various  things  out  of  material  supplied  to  his 
hand,  while  here  is  intended  an  act  of  sovereign  om- 


224  FAITH  IN   GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI 

inpotence.  Nor  is  it  true  that  either  the  Latin,  Greek, 
or  even  the  Hebrew  words  rendered  here  by  "  made," 
signify,  radically,  any  more.  Still,  our  word  "  create," 
formed  from  the  Latin,  is  universally  used  by  us,  espe- 
cially by  theologians,  to  convey  the  sense  of  entire 
origination,  or,  when  applied  to  the  great  fact  before 
us,  of  making  out  of  nothing  ;  and  so  we  shall  use  it. 
The  insufficiency  of  the  terms  of  the  other  languages 
should  not,  however,  prejudice  us  against  the  idea  of 
the  origination  by  God,  because  the  Romans  and 
Greeks,  being  heathen,  had  no  notion  of  Avhat  we  mean 
by  creation,  and  thought  that  matter  was  eternal ; 
while  the  Hebrew  has  few  radicals,  and  Moses  took 
the  one  nearest  to  the  full  sense.  The  Jews,  however, 
universally  understood  the  making  to  be  out  of  nothing ; 
indeed,  such  belief  in  the  divine  origination  of  all  things, 
distinguishes  those  who  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  written 
revelation  from  all  others.  The  writer  to  the  Hebrews 
puts  beyond  doubt  the  belief  of  both  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians on  the  subject,  when  he  says  :  "  Through  faith 
(«.  e.  reliance  on  divine  testimony),  we  understand  that 
the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  (or  speech 
of  God,  p-ijfj-aTi,  not  Xoyw,)  so  that  things  which  are  seen 
(visible)  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear 
({.  e.  are  distinguishable)  ; "  meaning,  as  Chrysostom 
observes,  things  that  are  were  made  of  things  which 
are  not  (see  1  Cor.  i.  28  ;  to.  jxt]  ovto.  .  .  .  to.  ovto),  that 
is,  of  nothing.  Besides  the  notion  that  matter  itself  has 
not  originated  from  God's  supreme  will,  would  impeach 
the  divine  almightiness,  since  that  which  had  existence 
without  his  will  must  continue  to  be,  in  some  degree, 
beyond  liis  power.  AVhen,  therefore,  we  read  that  "  in 
the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth," 
we  understand  that  he  made  them  out  of  nothing. 


Lect.  XL]  FAITH  IN   GOD   TPIE  FATHER.  225 

2d.  What  was  made.     The  verse  just  cited  tells  us, 
"  The  heaven  and  earth."     The  only  question  arising 
here  is  respecting  what  is  meant  by  "heaven  ;"*  whether 
it  sio-nifies  the  heaven  of  the  divine  Presence,  with  the 
various  orders  of  angelic  spirits  whose  abode  is  there,  — 
or  what  we   call   heaven,  intending  the  sky  and  the 
starry  worlds  which  we  call  the  heavenly  bodies.     The 
Rabbinical  opinion  is  that  it  means  the  former,  and  this 
is  followed  by  most  divines  ;  but  the  latter  idea,  confin- 
ing it  to  the  visible  heaven,  has,  at  least,  a  strong  prob- 
ability for   several   reasons.      In    the  first   place,   the 
scriptural  history  throughout  relates  to  this  world,  or 
rather  to  the  Church  in  this  world ;  and  what  concerns 
other  worlds,  which  are  the  abodes  of  happy  or  lost 
spirits,  is  spoken  of  with  great  reserve,  and  only  when 
necessary  to  the  development  of  facts  bearing  on  the 
Church  and  the  future  state  of  men.     Then,  again,  the 
account  is  everywhere  else  of  the  physical  creation, 
except  where  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  and  his  moral 
condition  (in  the  image  of  God)  are  stated.      So  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews,  speaking  of  Avhat  we  know  by 
faith  respecting  the  creation,  says :  "  the  things  that  are 
seen."     Besides  which,  the  Jews  (and  the  sacred  lan- 
guage is  conformable)  believed  that  there  were  three 
heavens  :  the  earth's  atmosphere  (as  we  say  the  fowls 
of  heaven)  ;    the   supernal    atmosphere,   or  what    we 
should  call  the  space  beyond  ;  and  the  third  heavens, 
or  heaven   of  heavens,   which  last  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
without  some  distinguishing  epithet,  alluded  to  by  the 
sacred  writers.     Certainly,  this  view  of  the  subject  re- 
lieves us  from  many  embarrassments  ;   as  we  believe 
firmly  that  all  creatures  in  heaven  as  well  as  on  earth, 

*  Or  heavens;  the  W'd  is  plural. 
VOL.  I.  15 


226  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

came  forth  from  the  almighty  will ;  and  only  confine 
the  sense  of  the  word  heaven  or  heavens  in  the  text 
before  us. 

3d.  The  time  of  the  making.  The  present  the- 
ories of  geologists  and  others  have  introduced  lax'ge 
discussions  on  this  point ;  and  Christian  inquirers 
have  sometimes  ventured  dangerously  far  through 
anxiety  to  reconcile  the  inspired  account  with  scien- 
tific opinion.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  if  our 
knowledge  of  facts  were  sufficient,  revelation  and  sci- 
ence would  be,  in  every  respect,  agreed ;  but,  as  firm 
believers  in  the  Divine  testimony,  we  should  never 
consent  to  try  the  truth  of  Moses  by  the  deductions  of 
philosophers.  Science  is  progressive,  and,  therefore, 
imperfect,  and,  therefore,  fallible.  The  present  hypoth- 
esis of  geologists  is  scarcely  half  a  century  old,  being 
based  on  facts  until  then  undiscovered ;  it  is  itself  con- 
tradictory to  the  hypothesis  of  the  same  science  in  the 
centuries  before ;  so  that  they  who  insist  upon  modern 
views  would  themselves  laugh  at  us  were  we  to  attempt 
the  trial  of  the  sacred  story  by  what  was  once  science, 
but  now  is  exploded.  Yet,  since  such  changes  have 
been  made  in  science  by  facts  discovered  lately,  who 
can  assert  that  no  new  facts  shall  be  discovered  to-mor- 
row, or  fifty  or  a  hundred  years  hence,  which  will 
change  as  entirely  the  scientific  opinion  as  it  has  been 
before  ?  We  do  not  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  facts 
which  the  geologists  state ;  but  we  doubt  their  theoret- 
ical deductions,  because  we  doubt  the  sufficiency  of 
their  facts  to  warrant  an  absolute  conclusion,  as  one 
new  fact  may  change  the  whole  combination.  We 
shall,  therefore,  adhere  to  tlie  Word  of  God,  let  other 
men  argue  as  they  please.     Still,  as  the  Mosaic  account 


Lect.  XL]  FAITH  IN  GOD   THE  FATHER.  227 

does  not  enter  into  questions  of  science,  but  is  meant 
for  the  general  mind  of  men,  our  interpretation  of  its 
language  should  be  correspondently  liberal,  though  not 
licentious  to  a  degree  that  would  impeach  its  fundamen- 
tal accuracy. 

Thus  we  read  that  "  in  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth."  When  "  the  beginninfii: " 
was,  is  not  stated  ;  and  it  may  very  well  be  a  general 
comprehensive  statement  of  an  original  fact,  viz  :  the 
creation  of  the  substance  out  of  which  the  present 
order  of  things  was  framed  ;  and  not  necessarily  in- 
cluded by  the  first  day.  Nay,  this  might  seem  to  be 
intimated  by  the  statement  that  the  earth  was  without 
form  and  void  until  the  subsequent  mandates  of  Jeho- 
vah were  issued.  If  this  interpretation  be  received, 
we  can  consistently  allow  the  possibility  of  the  sub- 
stance of  things  having  existed  long  before  ;  and  that, 
antecedent  to  the  present  constitution,  other  forms  had 
been  given  to  such  substance ;  a  supposition,  not  forbid- 
den, which  would  go  far  to  meet  the  main  objections 
derived  from  facts  discovered  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the 
earth  ;  while  the  fluxes  and  changes  of  the  waters  of 
which  Moses  speaks  are  confirmed  by  the  facts  of 
science. 

Again  ;  some,  from  motives  stated  a  little  while 
ago,  have  contended  that  "  the  day  "  in  six  of  which 
"  all  things  were  made,"  does  not  mean  a  day  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  but  a  period  of  time  including,  it  may  be, 
centuries  or  thousands  of  years  ;  but,  when  we  read 
closely,  such  an  assumption  is  unwarranted  ;  for  Moses 
expressly  limits  by  night  and  day,  as  we  do  our  day  — 
"  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first  day,"  and 
so  with  the  other  five  ;  and,  besides,  on  the  seventh 


228  FAITH   IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

day  he  rested,  and  from  that  fact  he  ordained  then, 
and  on  Mount  Sinai,  the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  to 
his  honor.  It  will  not,  therefore,  do  to  make  "  the 
day  "  indefinite  when  reading  one  verse,  and  confine  it 
to  twenty-four  hours  when  reading  another.  The  same 
rule  must  measure  each  and  all  of  the  seven. 

In  few  words,  then,  we  undei'stand  by  the  account 
given  in  Genesis,  just  so  much,  no  more,  no  less,  as  an 
ordinary  yet  cautious  and  reverent  reader  would  under- 
stand by  it ;  that  God  in  the  beginning  made  all  things 
out  of  nothing,  and  that  in  six  days  he  gave  to  matter 
the  form  which  it  now  has,  and  created  man  body  and 
soul  to  be  the  inhabitant  of  the  world,  and  the  vice- 
gerent of  God  over  all  things  that  are  in  the  earth. 

We  now  know, 

Secondly  :  The  doctrine  held  by  us  when  we  assert 
this  first  article  of  the  creed :  I  believe  in  Cfod,  the  Father 
Almighty,  Maker  of  heave^i  and  earth. 

The  catechumen  is  made  to  speak  in  the  first  person 
(I  believe),  because  he  is  addressed  personally  and 
required  to  state  his  own  personal  faith  and  convictions  ; 
yet  in  adopting  the  creed  of  the  true  Catholic  Church, 
he  declares  his  adherence  to  the  principles  of  faith  held 
by  the  whole  Church,  and,  therefore,  that  what  the 
creed  teaches  concerning  himself  is  equally  applicable 
to  all  genuine  Christians. 

Some  commentators  are  unnecessarily  anxious  to 
insist  upon  the  difference  between  "  believing"  and 
"  believing  in,"  as  if  "  believing  "  were  simply  recog- 
nizing a  truth  to  be  true,  and  "  believing  in  "  implied 
trusting  in  or  relying  upon  that  truth.  Such  a  distinc- 
tion is,  how^ever,  by  no  means  universal  when  these 
terms  are  employed ;  yet,  as  was  shown  in  our  dis- 


Lect.  XL]  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  229 

course  on  Saving  Faith  (21st  Question  and  Answer), 
sincere  belief  in  the  blessed  truths  here  set  forth,  must 
be  accompanied  by  a  cordial  reliance  upon  them. 

The  answer  of  the  catechist  (to  the  26th  Quest.) 
declares  the  main  Christian  doctrine  here  professed: 
"  I  believe  "  "  that  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  .  .  .  is,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  his  Son,  my  God 
and  my  Father^  This  is  the  doctrine  of  Adoption ; 
which  includes  two  things  :  — 

I.  The  relation  which  God,  represented  by  the  First 
Person  of  the  Godhead,  the  Father,  graciously  bears  to 
all,  who  through  faiUi  are  represented  by  the  Second 
Person,  the  Son,  incarnate  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners ; 
and, 

II.  The  spirit  or  disposition,  which  all  those  thus 
adopted  bear  to  God  as  his  children. 

I.  The  relation  which  God,  represented  by  the  Father, 
the  First  Person  of  the  Godhead,  graciously  bears  to 
all,  who  through  faith  are  represented  by  the  Second 
Person,  the  Son,  incarnate  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners. 

All  that  God  was  to  man  before  he  fell,  he  is  now 
graciously,  and  in  a  more  eminent  degree,  toward  sin- 
ners through  Christ  his  Son.  The  reconciliation,  by 
the  infinite  merits  of  the  Saviour  is  complete  ;  and  in 
honor  of  his  Son,  he  advances  the  believer  to  far  higher 
honors  than  man,  though  he  had  continued  holy,  could 
ever  have  won  by  his  own  righteousness.  God  renews 
the  sinner  whom  he  calls  to  a  new  life,  by  begetting  in 
him  a  new  nature  through  the  word  of  his  Gospel 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  applies.  But  this  life,  though, 
like  the  life  given  in  his  first  creation,  it  bears  the  image 
of  God,  yet,  unlike  that,  is  not  liable  to  be  lost,  but  is 
derived  from  God  through  the  divine  Son  to  whom  he 


230  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XI. 

is  vitally  joined  by  faith,  as  a  member  of  the  body  of 
whicli  Christ  is  the  Head ;  and  is  maintained  in  him 
by  the  constant  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence  the 
Master  says  ;  "  I  am  come  that  ye  might  have  life,  and 
that  ye  might  have  it  more  abundantly  ;  "  again  :  "  My 
sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  fol- 
low me  ;  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life  ;  and  they 
shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man  (i.  e.  any 
one)  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand;"  and  again,  ad- 
dressing his  Father  :  "  Glorify  thy  Son  that  thy  Son 
also  may  glorify  thee  ;  as  thou  hast  given  him  power 
over  all  flesh,  that  he  should  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  thou  hast  given  him."  The  new  life  is  as 
infallible  and  incorruptible,  therefore  eternal,  as  is  the 
union  of  the  believer  to  the  Son,  and  as  is  the  favor  of 
the  Son  with  the  Father.  As  the  Son  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  partakes  of  our  human  nature,  so  the 
believer,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  dwelling  in  him,  is  (using 
the  strong  language  of  the  Apostle  Peter)  "  partaker 
of  the  divine  nature." 

For  the  same  reasons,  and  in  the  same  manner,  is 
the  fellowship  between  God  and  the  believer  more  inti- 
mate and  full.  The  Son  is  near  to  the  Father ;  the 
believer  to  the  Son.  The  word  of  truth  is  enlarged 
for  his  benefit ;  the  communications  of  divine  knowl- 
edge far  greater,  things  hidden  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  and  things  of  the  world  to  come,  are  re- 
vealed ;  and,  especially,  does  tlie  Holy  Spirit,  the  Illu- 
minator, dwell  in  him,  enabling  him  to  hear  and  under- 
stand the  language  of  the  Father's  love  to  his  soul ; 
while  the  privilege  of  prayer  based  on  the  merits  of 
Christ,  and  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  equally 
enlarged,  so  that  he  has  access  with  the  affectionate 
boldness  of  a  dear  child  to  the  throne  of  grace. 


Lect.  XL]  FAITH   IN   GOD  THE  FATHER.  231 

So,  also,  with  his  inheritance.  It  is  as  supei'ior  to 
God's  original  bestowal  on  innocent  man,  as  Christ's 
mediatorial  righteousness  is  to  any  possible  righteous- 
ness of  man.  The  eternal  life  which  Christ  gives,  and 
the  communion  which  God  allows,  demand  for  their 
full  consummation,  a  higher,  purer,  more  glorious  and 
enduring  sphere  than  this  world  will  permit.  God  first 
gave  man  the  earth  ;  now  he  gives  him  heaven.  Christ 
came  from  heaven  to  dwell  with  the  believer,  and  he 
returns  to  heaven  that  the  believer  may  dwell  with  him 
there.  Christ's  home  as  the  Son  of  God  is  in  heaven  ; 
there  is  the  place  of  his  highest  dignity  and  honor ; 
and  there  is  the  believer's  home  as  the  child  of  God  in 
Christ,  and  there  will  he  share  in  all  the  dignity  and 
honor  of  his  Elder  Brother  forever. 

But  as  sin  yet  lingers  in  the  believer's  soul,  and  the 
effects  of  sin  are  in  his  body,  there  is  a  necessity  of  a 
purifying  process  before  he  is  fit  to  enter  upon  the  per- 
fection of  his  bliss.  Hence,  the  salutary  discipl  iie 
which  God  by  affliction,  exerts  upon  the  believer's 
soul.  Even  Christ,  though  sinless,  yet  as  the  Head  of 
a  sinful  Church,  and  partaker  of  all  our  infirmities  ex- 
cept sin,  yet  "  as  a  Son,  learned  obedience  by  the  things 
which  he  suffered  ; "  and  as  the  Apostle  says  :  "If 
children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with 
Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  him  that  we  may 
be  glorified  together."  Thus,  even  trial  is  a  most 
blessed  proof  of  God  ou,r  Father's  love,  "  that  the 
trial  of  our  faith  being  much  more  precious  than  of 
gold  which  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might 
be  found  unto  praise  and  honor  and  glory  at  the  appear- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ." 

II.  The  spirit  or  disposition  of  the  adopted  ones  to 


232  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  [Lect.  XL 

God  as  their  Father,  is  correspondent  to  the  privileges 
of  the  adoption.  It  is  stated  in  the  answer  before  us. 
He  believes  and  asserts,  "  that  the  eternal  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (who  of  nothing  made  heaven 
and  earth,  with  all  that  in  them  is)  who  likewise  up- 
holds and  governs  the  same  by  his  eternal  counsel  and 
providence,  is,  for  the  sake  of  Christ  his  Son,  my  God 
and  my  Father ;  on  whom  I  rely  so  entirely  that  I  have 
no  doubt  but  that  he  will  make  whatever  evils  he  sends 
upon  me  in  this  valley  of  tears,  turn  out  for  my  advan- 
tage ;  for  he  is  able  to  do  it,  being  Almighty  God ;  and 
willing,  being  a  faithful  Father." 

1.  Here  is  a  spirit  of  reverence,  for  who  can  so  ap- 
proach the  holy  and  infinitely  majestic  God  without  deep 
awe  !  An  affectionate,  yet  humble  fear,  is  a  necessary 
characteristic  of  a  child  of  God.  It  includes,  also, 
a  spirit  of  obedience,  for  now  there  is  a  double  claim 
upon  his  service ;  the  claim  of  God  as  his  Creator,  and 
the  claim  of  God  as  his  loving  Father  in  Christ.  He 
belongs  wholly  to  God  his  owner,  and  now  his  Redeemer 
in  Christ,  the  author  of  his  natural  life,  and  the  author  of 
his  spiritual  eternal  life.  How  can  he  hesitate  to  believe 
the  commands  of  such  a  Father  to  be  Avise  and  kind  ? 
How  can  he  hesitate  to  obey  that  divine  Father  who  is 
so  merciful  to  him  in  this  life,  and  has  provided  for  him 
such  a  glorious  bliss  in  the  life  to  come  ?  For  the  same 
reason  it  includes  submission  and  resignation  to  all 
God's  dispensations,  since  God  has  a  right  to  do  what 
he  will  with  his  own,  and  the  heavenly  Father  will  do 
nothing  hurtful  to  his  child. 

2.  But  here  is,  also,  the  spirit  of  confidence.  God, 
the  Almighty  Maker  of  all  things,  must  be  the  Disposer 
of  all  things  ;  therefore,  all  things  are  his  to  order  as 


Lect.  XI.]  FAITH  IN  GOD  THE  FATHER.  233 

lie  pleases.  Thus  assured  of  his  power,  the  believer  is, 
also,  sure  of  the  willingness  of  God  to  do  all  thino-s 
necessary  and  profitable  for  his  best  good,  because  God 
is  his  faithful  Father.  Therefore,  he  is  "  not  afraid  of 
evil  tidings,  his  heart  is  fixed  trusting  in  God."  He 
dreads  no  want,  for  all  things  are  in  his  Father's  hand. 
He  quails  before  no  enemy  ;  his  Father  is  stronger  than 
all  that  can  be  against  him.  He  shrinks  from  no  trial 
in  the  path  of  his  duty,  for  he  knows  that  the  angel  of 
the  covenant  is  in  the  midst  of  the  flame ;  and,  when 
called  to  die  he  is  triumphant,  for  he  can  say :  "  Now, 
O  Father,  I  come  to  thee."  "  All  things  are  yours," 
says  the  holy  Paul,  ..."  the  world,  or  life,  or  death, 
or  things  present,  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  yours  ; 
and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 

Thanks  to  thee,  O  blessed  Father,  for  such  an  adop- 
tion !  Thanks  to  thee,  O  blessed  Son,  for  thy  merits, 
which  commend  us  to  God  I  Thanks  to  thee,  O  blessed 
Holy  Spirit,  by  whose  grace  we  draw  nigh  to  God's 
embrace  !  Thanks  !  Thanks  !  Thanks  eternal,  O 
blessed  Trinity,  God  of  our  life,  God  of  our  mercies, 
God  of  our  hope  ! 

And  O,  grant  when  all  thy  children  are  brought 
home  safely  to  thy  heavenly  house,  there  may  be 
wanting  not  one  of  all  these  before  thee  this  day ! 

Amen. 


LECTURE  XII. 
THE   PEOVIDENCE   OF   GOD. 


TENTH  LORD'S   DAY. 
THE   PROVIDENCE   OF   GOD. 

Quest.  XXVII.     IVJiat  dost  thou  mean  by  the  Providence  of  Godf 

Ans.  The  almighty  and  everywhere  present  power  of  God,  whereby  as  it 
were  by  his  hand,  he  upholds  and  governs  heaven,  earth,  and  all 
creatures;  so  that  herbs  and  grass,  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  bar- 
ren years,  meat  and  drink,  health  and  sickness,  riches  and  povert)', 
yea,  and  all  things  come,  not  by  chance,  but  by  his  fatherly  hand. 

Quest.  XXVIII.  What  advantage  is  it  for  us  to  hnoiu  that  God  has  created, 
and  by  his  Providence  doth  still  uphold  all  things  ? 

Ans.  That  we  may  be  patient  in  adversity,  thankful  in  prosperity ;  and 
that  in  all  things  which  may  hereafter  befall  us,  we  place  our  firm 
trust  in  our  faithful  God  and  Father,  that  nothing  shall  separate  us 
from  his  love;  since  all  creatures  are  so  in  his  hand,  that  without  his 
will  they  cannot  so  much  as  move. 

npHE  lesson  of  the  Ninth  Lord's  Day  sets  forth  two 
-■-  principal  things  which  must  be  kept  in  mind  for  a 
better  understanding  of  the  lesson  before  us  :  1.  That 
God,  the  Creator  of  all  things,  is  the  eternal  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  2.  That  he  is,  for  the 
sake  of  his  Son,  the  God  and  Father  of  all  who  believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour ;  from  which 
truths  we  were  taught  to  infer  the  duty  and  privilege 
of  relying  confidently  and  entirely  on  his  almighty  and 
gracious  will,  as  the  certain  source  of  all  things  requisite 
for  body  and  soul,  for  time  and  eternity.  But  that  this 
eminent  comfort  of  the  believer  might  be  fully  assured, 
there  must  be  added  to  the  fact  of  creation  by  God 
alone,  the  consequential  fact  of  his  all-wise,  supreme, 
and  unceasing  government  over  all  he  has  made.  This 
constant   and   universal    government,    the   Catechism, 


238  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lect.  XII. 

agreeably  to  general  usage,  has  in  the  26th  Question 
and  Answer  called  Providence^  and 

The  doctrine  of  Divine  Providence,  with  the  Practical 
Lessons  which  it  suggests,  is  the  subject  for  our  study 
to-day. 

The  doctrine  is  stated  in  the  answer  to  the  27th 
Question  ;    the  lessons  are  given  in  that  to  the  28th. 

First  :   The  doctrine  of  Divine  Providence. 

We  unhesitatingly  and  thankfully  adopt  the  state- 
ment of  it  supplied  by  our  Church  : 

"  What  dost  thou  mean  by  the  Providence  of  God  ?  " 

"  The  almighty  and  everywhere  present  power  of 
God,  whereby  as  it  were  by  his  hand,  he  upholds 
and  governs  heaven,  earth,  and  all  creatures  ;  so  that 
herbs  and  grass,  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  barren 
years,  meat  and  drink,  health  and  sickness,  riches  and 
poverty,  yea,  and  all  things  come,  not  by  chance,  but 
by  his  fatherly  hand." 

Following  this  our  guide,  we  are  to  consider  :  I.  The 
signification  of  the  phrase  ;  Providence  of  God.  II. 
The  fact  of  such  Providence.  III.  The  extent  of 
Divine  Providence.  IV.  The  particularity  of  Divine 
Providence. 

I.  The  signification  of  the  phrase :  Providence  of  God. 

1.  The  word  providence  occurs  only  once  in  the 
Scriptures,  where  Tertullus,  opening  his  action  against 
Paul,  and  addressing  Felix,  says  :  "  Very  worthy  deeds 
are  done  unto  this  nation  b}^  thy  providence,"  that  is, 
by  the  vigor  and  skill  of  his  administration  ;  but  Chris- 
tians have  universally  adopted  it,  or  its  equivalent,  in 
their  several  languages,  as  aptly  descriptive  of  the  great 
work  here  ascribed  to  God. 

It  is  taken  from  the  Latin,  and  by  its  etymology 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  239 

means  foresight,  not  merely  in  the  sense  of  seeing  be- 
fore (as  then  it  would  be  j^revidence  or  jorescience)  but 
in  the  sense  of  taking  care*  for  the  future,  or  rather 
an  ordering  of  things  and  events  after  a  predetermined 
intelligent  plan  ;  which  supposes  wisdom  to  devise  and 
power  to  execute. 

2.  In  the  divine  mind  there  is,  properly  speaking, 
neither  past  nor  future,  hence  by  the  Providence  of 
God  we  understand  his  supreme  disposition  of  his  creat- 
ures according  to  the  infinitely  wise  counsel  of  his  own 
will.  Thus  it  is  not  only  an  operation  but  an  economy ; 
and  when  the  Catechism  here  speaks  of  "  the  almighty 
and  everywhere  present  power  of  God,"  it  means  the 
sovereignty  of  God  systematically,  constantly,  and  uni- 
vei'sally  active,  "  whereby  (as  it  were  by  his  hand)  he 
upholds  and  governs  heaven,  earth,  and  all  creatures  ;  " 
or  as  the  Westminster  Assembly's  Catechism  has  it: 
"  His  most  holy,  wise,  and  powerful  preserving  and 
governing  all  his  creatures,  and  all  their  actions." 

II.  The  fact  of  such  a  Providence. 

1.  The  testimony  of  Scripture  to  Providence  is  so 
general,  explicit,  and  strong,  that  the  citation  of  partic- 
ular texts  is  hardly  necessary.  It  is  the  joy  of  all  be- 
lievers to  knoAV  that  the  Lord  reigneth,  and  that  "he 
doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth ; "  that  his  doings 
are  neither  capricious  nor  uncertain,  but  that  "  known 
unto  the  Lord  are  all  his  works  from  the  beginning," 
because  he  "  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will,"  "  according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which  he 
purposed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

But  for  his  Providence,  where  would  be  the  govern- 

*  Such  is  the  classical  force  oi  pro  in  composition. 


240  THE  PROVroENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lect.  XII. 

ment  everywhere  ascribed  to  him  ?  Where  the  truth 
of  the  prophecies  he  inspired  liolv  men  to  utter  ?  Where 
the  faithfulness  of  his  promises  on  which  he  encourages 
us  to  rely  ?  Where  the  certainty  of  his  rewards  pro- 
posed to  the  obedient,  or  of  his  penalties  threatened 
against  the  trangressor  ?  All  his  declarations  are  based 
upon  his  efficiency  to  carry  out  his  determinations  ;  so 
that  without  Providence  there  can  be  no  order,  no  con- 
fidence, no  justice,  no  hope. 

2.  Reason  abundantly  confirms  the  testimony  of 
Scripture  ;  from 

A.  (a  priori.')  The  being,  perfections,  and  creation 
of  God. 

a.  When  we  admit  the  existence  of  God,  we  admit 
his  sovereignty.  It  enters  into  our  definition  of  God. 
Take  away  the  idea  of  supreme  rule  from  him,  and  you 
have  denied  what  is  meant,  what  all  understand,  by 
God. 

h.  It  is  necessary  to  his  power ;  for  latent  power  in  a 
being,  whom  we  can  know  only  by  his  manifestations 
of  himself,  is,  for  us,  all  the  same  as  inertness.  It  is 
necessary  to  his  wisdom  ;  for  without  application  in  the 
exercise  of  his  power,  it  is  equally  undiscoverable.  It 
is  necessary  to  his  moral  attributes  of  holiness  and 
goodness  ;  for  how  can  we  conceive  of  a  being  worthy 
of  adoration,  service,  and  trust,  who  gives  no  evidence 
of  regard  for  justice,  or  affection  for  his  subjects  ? 

c.  And  this  the  more  since  we  know  the  fact  of  his 
creation.  Was  the  construction  from  nothing  of  this 
vast,  complicated,  harmonious  system  of  things,  a  mere 
passing  amusement  for  its  Maker,  a  mere  caprice,  an 
idle,  [)urposeless  stroke  of  his  hand,  that  he  should  cast 
it  aside  when  done,  as  unworthy  of  his  farther  care  ? 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  241 

Has  he  called  into  conscious  being  so  many  intelligent 
creatures,  dependent  for  knowledge  and  happiness  upon 
circumstances  utterly  above  their  management,  to  leave 
them  in  their  weakness,  blindness,  and  yearning  anxie- 
ties, the  sport  of  chance,  the  prey  of  necessity,  the  vic- 
tims of  ignorance?  Will  the  divine  Father  abandon 
his  children  ?  Will  the  Author  of  all  things  despise 
the  works  of  his  own  hands  ? 

B.  (Ji,  posteriori.')  The  frame  and  order  of  the  uni- 
verse, physical  and  moral. 

a.  When  we  observe,  though  superficially,  the  nature 
of  things  around  us,  and  with  which  we  have  neces- 
sai'ily  more  or  less  to  do,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  there 
is  a  systematic  arrangement  by  which  very  many  things, 
each  having  its  peculiar  characteristics,  are  combined  as 
a  harmonious  whole ;  and  that,  though  there  are  con- 
tinual cliano;es  and  successions,  the  original  oro;anization 
is  maintained  by  an  all-pervading  energy,  operating  uni- 
formly through  what  are  popularly  denominated  causes, 
or  as  we  prefer  to  say,  according  to  certain  laws.  These 
great  facts,  though  at  once  obvious,  are  more  fully  ap- 
parent, the  farther  and  more  closely  we  investigate.  It 
is,  in  fact,  the  whole  object  and  business  of  science, 
through  all  its  departments,  to  discover  these  laws  and 
bring  them  within  the  reach  of  our  uses ;  for  it  is  upon 
our  conformity  to  these  laws  that  our  welfare  depends. 
These  laws,  being  applied  by  special  adaptations  to  the 
many  various  things  in  their  various  purposes,  seem,  at 
first  sight,  to  be  almost  innumerable ;  each  (so  called) 
kingdom  of  nature,  animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable,  nay, 
each  tiling  in  each  of  those  kingdoms,  being  under  a 
peculiar  regulation,  yet  when  followed  out,  coalesce 
into  fewer,  as  we  see  them  pervading  all,  until  we  reach 

VOL.   I.  16 


242  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lect.   XII. 

a  point  where  they  converge,  compelling  the  logical 
conviction,  that  there  is  one  law  supreme  over  all,  one 
grand  centre  from  which  they  all  i-adiate.  What  is 
that  grand  source,  that  sovereign  law,  but  the  will  of 
the  Creator  ?  For  nothing  is  more  clear  than  that  no 
one  of  those  phenomena  (or  appearances)  which  are 
styled  causes,  has  in  itself  the  force  to  produce  what  is 
called  its  effect,  since  it  is  itselfan  effect  of  a  cause  pre- 
ceding it,  and  so  backward  as  far  as  we  can  trace  the 
succession.  There'  must  be,  therefore,  an  original  sin- 
gle force  operating  through  all  these  cooperating,  never 
conflicting  causes.  But  is  it  not  equally  clear  that  these 
laws  of  operation  proceed  from  an  intelligent  will  ?  — 
And  as  these  laws  are  operative  throughout  all  things, 
combining  them  as  a  consistent  whole,  that  that  intelli- 
gent will  is  imperial,  supreme,  and  one  ?  If  no  one 
thing,  or  change  of  a  thing,  occurs  by  chance,  or  pro- 
duces itself,  or  is  independent  of  the  rest,  or  can  be 
separated  from  the  whole,  but  all  are  subject  as  parts  or 
as  combination,  to  law,  how  could  the  entire  system 
have  come  by  chance,  or  produced  itself,  or  in  any  way 
exist,  but  from  the  energy  of  an  almighty,  all-v;ise 
Will  ?  If  so,  is  not  the  same  almighty,  all-wise  Will 
which  was  necessary  to  create,  yet  more  necessary  to 
maintain  the  organization,  since  the  act  of  creation  was 
an  instant  exercise  of  omnipotence,  while  in  the  contin- 
uance of  the  moving  system  the  impelling  force  is  con- 
stant ?  And,  if  so,  are  there  not  stronger  I'easons  for 
the  Divine  will  to  maintain  it  than  there  were  for  its 
creation  ;  since  not  to  maintain  would  be  to  destroy  the 
wonderful  structure  which  has  been  called  into  exist- 
ence out  of  nothing  ?  Tlie  skilful  arrangements,  every- 
where seen,  for  the  continuance  of  the  economy,  prove 


Lect.  XII.l  THE  PROVIDENCE   OF   GOD.  243 

the  design  of  the  Creator  that  it  shall  be  continued 
until  the  purpose  of  the  creation  is  reached  ;  and  the 
equally  certain  tact  that  these  arrangements  are  7iot 
themselves  causes,  or  of  themselves  efficient,  but  simply 
methods  through  which  the  almighty  will  operates, 
proves  that  the  Divine  power  is  and  shall  be  constantly 
put  forth  in  its  continuance.  To  sum  up  our  brief 
argument :  The  order  of  natural  thino;s  demonstrates 
their  having  been  created  by  the  almighty  all-wise  God  ; 
therefore,  the  active  continuance  of  that  order  must  be 
maintained  and  governed  by  God  alone. 

h.  A  similar  course  of  reasoning  proves  the  provi- 
dence of  God  over  moral  beings  and  events.  That 
there  is  a  distinction  betAveen  right  and  wrong,  that 
God  has  created  conscious  intelligent  beings,  whose 
conduct  must  be  either  right  or  wrong,  and  that  their 
welfare  individually  and  collectively  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  such,  their  moral  conduct,  no  one  will 
soberly  pretend  to  deny.  The  inference,  however,  is 
irresistible  that  there  is  a  system  of  moral  things  as 
there  is  a  system  of  things  physical ;  and  that,  as  there 
can  be  no  such  thing  as  chance,  the  order  of  moral 
events  is  presided  over  b}'-  the  same  almighty,  all-wise 
will  which  has  ordained  the  connection  between  moral 
actions  and  their  retributory  consequences.  God,  by 
his  creation  of  moral  beings,  has  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  moral  economy ;  and  no  moral  event  can 
occur  outside  of  his  will,  that  is  without  his  determina- 
tion, except  through  his  indifference  or  impotence. 
That  he  is  indifferent  to  what  so  intimately  concerns 
the  welfare  of  his  creatures,  it  were  impious  denial  of 
his  character  to  assert ;  that  he  is  imable  to  exercise 
such  control,  is  as  inconsistent  with  his  essential  almigh- 


244  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lect.  X1[. 

tiness  ;  but,  as  the  moral  events  which  concern  his 
moral  creatures  are  intimately  and  systematically  con- 
nected with  their  moral  conduct,  so  their  moral  actions 
must  as  certainly  be  within  the  control  of  his  sover- 
eignty. This  we  ai'gue  farther  from  the  fact  that  men, 
for  the  most  part,  if  not  always,  immediately  or  more 
remotely,  make  use  of  physical  things  in  carrying  out 
their  moral  purposes  ;  and,  therefore,  if  uncontrolled, 
would  interfere  with  the  physical  order  which  God  has 
established ;  yet  farther,  from  the  fact  that  the  moral 
acts  of  an  individual  affect  necessarily  more  or  less  the 
welfare  of  other  moral  creatures  with  whom  he  is  sys- 
tematically connected.  The  denial  of  moral  providence 
would  be,  therefore,  to  put  the  order  of  physical  things, 
and  the  welfare  of  other  moral  beings,  at  the  disposal 
of  any  individual  moral  agent.  Where  then  would  be 
the  Creator's  right  to  his  own  ?  Where  the  paternal 
government  of  God  over  his  moral  children  ?  Where 
his  power  to  punish  or  reward  ?  Where  the  knowledge 
of  distinction  between  right  and  wrong  ?  There  would 
be  an  end  of  truth,  of  certainty,  and  of  hope ;  and  the 
universe  would  be  abandoned  to  a  self-destructive  an- 
archy, until  it  became  worse  than  hell,  over  which  the 
power  of  God  is  dominant,  —  a  chaos  of  desires  and  pas- 
sions and  furious  actions,  where  the  vile  would  rage  and 
torment  without  check,  and  the  good  suffer  without  a 
possibility  of  escape.  There  is  no  avoiding  one  or  the 
other  of  these  conclusions  ;  the  divine  government  must 
be  supreme,  or  there  is  no  divine  government ;  every 
moral  being  except  God  must  be  in  all  respects  his 
subject,  or  there  is  no  God  ;  and  any,  even  the  least, 
limitation  of  the  divine  control,  is  a  denial  of  divine 
control   altogether.       God,  I  speak   with    deep    rever- 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  245 

ence,  must  be  over  all,  through  all,  all  in  all,  or  noth- 
ing- 

If  it  be  asked :  How  this  can  be  consistent  with  that 

moral  freedom  of  the  creature  which  makes  him  a 
responsible  agent  ?  we  answer,  That  the  free  agency 
of  the  moral  being,  the  fact  of  which  every  one  knows 
by  his  own  consciousness  (and  there  can  be  no  higher 
proof),  must  be  the  freedom  of  a  creature,  and,  there- 
fore, limited  by  his  nature  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
economy  under  which  he  has  his  being.  His  being  a 
creature,  supposes  his  being  to  have  been  derived  and 
to  be  maintained  ;  so  that  he  must  act  only  within  the 
limits  the  creative  will  has  set  to  his  agency.  A  bird  is 
not  without  freedom  as  a  bird,  because  he  cannot  live 
the  life  of  a  fish  ;  or  a  fish  because  he  cannot  live  the 
life  of  a  bird.  An  angel  is  not  without  freedom  as  an 
angel,  because  he  cannot  perform  the  corporeal  actions 
of  a  man :  or  a  man  because  his  spirit  here  is  incorpo- 
rated. Neither  are  without  freedom,  because  the  organ- 
ization of  our  natures  makes  us  dependent  for  physical 
life  and  comforts  on  the  economy  of  physical  things 
around  us ;  because  we  must  have  food  and  shelter  and 
healthful  air,  or  we  die.  God  never  intended  that  we 
should  be  independent  of  him  ;  though  he  did  intend 
for  us  the  opportunity  of  that  happiness  which  springs 
from  personal  choice  and  correspondent  action  ;  and, 
therefore,  with  our  freedom  he  ordained  the  system  of 
things  in  which  we  may  choose  and  act  for  our  own 
good  by  a  conformity  with  the  laws  which  he  has  estab- 
lished ;  yet  is  our  freedom  within  law ;  and  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  laws  of  the  economy  in  which  he  has  placed 
us,  and  to  which  he  has  adapted  our  natures,  he  holds 
us,  notwithstanding  our  freedom,  under  perfect  control. 


246  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lect.  XII 

He  never  forces  us  to  harm  ourselves  by  doing  wrong, 
but  provides  methods  in  using  which  we  may  advan- 
tage ourselves  by  doing  right ;  yet  we  may  harm  our- 
selves by  doing  contrary  to  the  very  laws  which  he  has 
appointed  for  our  good.  That  which  he  prevents  us 
from,  he  reserves  within  his  own  action  ;  that  only  in 
which  he  allows  us  to  act  is  within  our  freedom,  and 
consequently  within  our  moral  responsibility.  He  may 
slacken  the  reins,  but  never  lets  them  drop  from  his 
hands. 

Now,  we  do  not  say  that  the  methods  of  his  moral 
providence  can  be  always  as  distinctly  traced  as  those 
of  his  physical  rule  ;  natural  things  are  merely  passive, 
and  their  changes  being  from  his  power  alone  are  more 
obvious  ;  yet  it  cannot  be  that  his  moral  administration 
is  less  systematic,  and  could  we  trace  it  out  as  distinctly, 
we  should  perceive  it  to  be  equally  uniform.  As  it  is, 
the  history  of  individual  men  and  of  nations  clearly 
proves  that  wrong  is  punished  and  right  rewarded  ;  or, 
if  present  inequalities  occur,  they  are  yet  to  be  com- 
pensated beyond  this  sphere.  This  last  fact  could  not, 
it  is  true,  be  discovered  by  our  unassisted  reason,  but 
divine  revelation  relieves  us  of  all  doubt.  If  you  ask 
again,  how  it  is  that  evil  exists  and  that  men  do  wrong 
when  God  could  have  prevented  it  ?  We  answer, 
that  it  is  not  for  us  to  accuse  or  defend  the  sovereign 
will  of  God ;  he  has  permitted  and  does  permit  evil, 
therefore,  he  must  have  the  best  reasons  for  such  per- 
mission, and  in  the  end  his  glory  will  be  manifest 
through  all ;  but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  there 
is  a  wide  difference  between  permitting  evil  to  occur 
throuirh  the  unforced  action  of  his  moral  creatures, 
and  causing  it  to  occur  by  his  own  immediate  power ; 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF   GOD.  247 

nor  can  we  see  how  a  creature  could  be  free  to  choose 
virtue  or  the  right,  and  not  be  free  to  choose  sin  or  the 
wrong  ;  as  in  such  case,  all  morality  would  be  lost  in  a 
necessity.     As  it  is,  no  man,  let  him  dispute  as  he  will, 
can  put  himself  outside  of  the  moral  system  in  which 
God  has  placed  him  ;  while  he  is  as  certainly  conscious 
that,  though  the   issues  of  his  actions  are  beyond  his 
control,   his  actions  themselves    spring  from  his   own 
choice.     Depraved  habit  may  superinduce  a  force  of 
tendency,  which  we  have  not  force  enough  of  will  to 
resist;  but  the  tendency  is  acquired,  not  original,  and 
has  come  from  the  will  of  God  only  so  far  as  the  de- 
praving nature  of  sin  is  part  of  its  inevitable  punish- 
ment.    The  common  sense  of  mankind  will  not  allow 
the  force  of  such  habit  to  avail  a  transgressor  of  human 
laws  ;  nor  will  it  be  tolerated  in  the  judgment  of  God. 
Philosophy,  falsely  so  called,  has  sometimes  argued  for 
such  a  necessity  in  men  ;  and  a  mawkish   sensibility 
over   criminal    suicides    of  their    own   well-being,   has 
pleaded  it  in  their  excuse  ;  but  the  doctrine  in  either 
case  is  as  contrary  to  the  practical   reasoning   of  the 
world  as  it  is  to  the  declarations  of  inspired  Scripture  ; 
for  according  to  both  it  is  subversive  of  all  morality, 
of  human  responsibility,  and  of  divine  government,  re- 
ducing men  below  the  brute. 

III.   The  extent  of  Divine  Providence. 

It  is,  says  the  Catechism,  "  The  almiglity  and  every- 
where present  power  of  God,  whereby,  as  it  were  by 
his  hand,  he  upholds  and  governs  heaven,  earth, 
and  all  creatures."  This  is  in  accordance  with  our 
argument,  for  if  there  be  any  force  in  our  previous 
reasoning.  Providence  must  be  conunensurate  Avith 
creation,  and  continuous  as  its  continuance.     The  up- 


248  THE   PROVIDENCE   OF   GOD.  [Lect.  XH. 

holding  or  maintenance  of  things  as  they  exist  is  as 
necessarily  an  act  of  divine  power,  as  the  calling  of 
them  into  existence  out  of  nothing  ;  and,  as  the  entire 
universe  is  the  creation  of  one  almighty,  all-wise  will, 
so  it  must  all  be  comprehended  by  the  purpose  of  that 
divine  will,  and,  thei-efore,  constitute  one  grand  system 
of  active  laws  ;  for  the  j^reservation  of  which  economy 
a  constant  government  by  its  Divine  Author  is  both 
morally  and  physically  essential. 

Such  is  the  extent  assigned  to  the  government  of 
God  in  innumerable  passages  of  Holy  Scripture  ;  and 
many  corroboratory  evidences  of  the  fact, are  discover- 
able by  an  observant  reason.  Science  has  demonstrated 
that  the  various  parts  of  the  universe,  within  its  ken, 
are  held  together  in  harmonious  motion  by  the  two 
grand  laws  of  attraction  and  repulsion  ;  that  there 
is  nothing  so  minute  as  to  be  beneath  them,  nothing 
so  vast  as  to  be  beyond  them  ;  nay,  that  there  could 
not  be  a  suspension  or  violation  of  either  law  in 
any  part  without  producing  confusion  and  destruction 
throughout  all,  such  is  the  exactness  of  the  balance 
with  which  the  apparentl}^  opposing  forces  are  harmo- 
nized by  the  divine  rule.  The  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament  is,  that  all  providence  is  committed  to  the 
hands  of  Christ,  the  Mediator,  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  covenant  purpose  toward  the  Church  ;  and, 
therefore,  in  their  nearer  or  more  remote  relations, 
"  all  things  "  work  together  under  his  kingly  directions, 
that  God  "  according  to  his  good  pleasure  which  he 
hath  purposed  in  himself  .  .  .  in  the  dispensation  of  the 
fulness  of  times  .  .  .  mio;ht  gather  together  in  one  all 
things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which 
are  in  earth  ;  even  in  him."  Hence  the  doxology  of  the 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  249 

four  and  twenty  elders  before  the  throne  :  "  Thou  art 
worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory  and  honor  and  power; 
for  thou  hast  ci'eated  all  things  and  for  thy  pleasure 
they  are  and  were  created ;  "  hence  also  John  the  rev- 
elator  heard  "  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and 
on  the  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in 
the  sea  and  all  that  are  in  them  .  .  .  saying  :  Blessing 
and  honor  and  glory  and  power  be  unto  him  that  sit- 
teth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and 
ever."  From  this,  and  many  other  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, it  would  appear  that  a  universal  providence  is 
necessary  to  the  carrying  on,  and  completion  of  the 
plan  ordained  for  the  redemption  by  Christ  of  the 
Church,  '  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that 
filleth  all  in  all." 

IV.  The  particularity  of  Divine  Providence. 

Our  Church,  ever  mindful  of  its  design  to  put  the 
answers  of  the  Catechism  into  the  mouth  of  each  pious 
believer,  specifies  some  of  those  things  which  more  im- 
mediately affect  his  experience  here  :  "  Herbs  and  grass 
(or  all  vegetation,)  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  bar- 
ren years,  meat  (food)  and  drink,  health  and  sickness, 
riches  and  poverty,  yea,  and  all  things,  come  not  by 
chance,  but  by  his  fatherly  hand."  But  for  the  same 
reason  that  some  events  are  particularly  ordered  by 
God  all  must  be  ;  and  the  whole  of  our  previous  argu- 
ment goes  to  show  the  fact  and  the  necessity  of  such 
particular  action  on  the  part  of  God  in  his  providence. 

The  order  and  arrangement  of  laws  under  which  all 
things  are  placed  by  the  almighty  will,  because  it  proves 
an  all-wise  design,  proves  a  universal  providence  ;  but, 
also,  as  the  economy  is  a  combination  of  parts,  each 
under  its  oavu  laws  consistent  with  the  general  laws,  it 


250         *  THE   PROVIDENCE   OF    GOD.  [Lect.  XII 

proves  a  particular  attention  of  Providence  to  each 
part  or  process,  and  to  the  operation  of  the  laws  which 
concern  it.  In  fact,  it  is  upon  the  divine  regulation  of 
each  and  every  part,  that  the  continuance  of  the  whole 
system  depends.  As  in  a  vast  com])lication  of  machin- 
ery, if  you  take  away  a  single  wheel,  or  connection 
between  the  wheels,  the  M'hole  is  checked,  or  made  to 
work  wrongly,  or  even  to  destroy  itself  by  its  own  dis- 
arranged forces  ;  so  it  would  be  with  the  movements 
of  the  providential  economy.  They  mutually  depend 
on  each  other.  If  you  balance  a  pair  of  scales  on 
either  side  by  portions  of  sand,  it  is,  indeed,  the  aggre- 
gate weight  on  each  scale  that  maintains  the  equilib- 
rium, yet,  M^ere  the  beam  adjusted  with  sufficient  deli- 
cacy, the  taking  away  of  a  single  grain  from  either 
would  give  the  preponderance  ;  so  it  is  with  the  system 
of  worlds,  which  worlds  are  made  up  of  atoms.  Each 
atom  has  its  weight,  as  well  as  the  vastest  orb  that  rolls 
along  its  circuit  singing  of  its  Maker's  power.  Again  : 
we  see  that  though  there  are  processes  common  to  dif- 
ferent departments  of  nature  animate  and  inanimate, 
yet  that  each  individual  of  the  class  has  its  own  pecul- 
iar place  and  history.  You  look  over  a  meadow  field ; 
it  is  all  waving  in  green  except  where  it  is  sprinkled 
with  wild  flowers ;  but  examine  more  closely  and  you 
see  that  the  mass  of  verdure  is  not  one  and  single  ; 
but  that  it  is  made  up  of  separate  individual  plants, 
each  of  which  has  sprung  from  its  own  seed,  and  has 
its  own  life  subject  to  accidents  peculiar  to  itself.  So 
it  is  with  the  animal  creation.  Each  conscious  being 
has  his  own  experience,  differing  from  that  of  all  others 
in  some  discoverable  particulars,  while  it  is  Avith  all  the 
others  subject  to  the  laws  which  preside  over  the  family 


Lect.  xil]  the  providence  of  god.  251 

to  which  it  belongs.  So  it  is  with  intelHc-ent  cominu- 
nities.  Take  our  own  nation  under  its  admirable  sys- 
tem of  government.  One  grand  law  of  the  constitu- 
tion presides  over  it  as  a  whole  ;  yet  each  State  of  the 
confederacy  has  its  distinctly  recognized  individuality, 
each  county  in  the  State,  each  town  in  the  county,  each 
subdivision  of  the  town,  nay,  each  individual  citizen 
has  peculiar  rights  and  a  peculiar  action.  The  Execu- 
tive President  at  the  head  of  all  is  one  ;  but  he  repre- 
sents the  constitutional  will  of  the  nation,  yet  the 
nation  not  as  a  single  mass,  but  every  individual  citizen 
who  contributes  his  individuality  to  make  up  the  aggre- 
gate people.  So,  though  with  infinitely  greater  right 
and  power  and  wisdom,  doth  the  Supreme  Lord,  the 
Creator,  rule,  through  the  operation  of  his  own  divinely 
appointed  laws,  the  universe  he  has  made,  by  ruling 
over  each  individual  creature,  event,  and  process.  The 
tallest  angel  before  his  throne,  and  the  least  insect  tliat 
lives  its  little  life  and  dies  in  an  hour,  are  equally  de- 
pendent upon  his  constant  care.  The  history  of  man- 
kind under  his  controlling  Avill,  is  the  aggregate  of  the 
history  of  each  individual  of  the  race.  We  may  not 
be  able  to  trace  the  connection,  but  could  we  see  as  he 
sees,  it  would  be  all  manifest ;  and  as  the  weaver  forms 
the  long,  wide  web  by  adding  thread  to  thread  in  the 
woof  and  warp,  so  does  he  by  his  constant,  unerring 
control  of  each  and  all,  accomphsh  the  result  of  his 
infinite  design. 

Is  it  objected  to  this,  that  it  deprives  men's  actions 
of  their  freedom  ?  We  answered  the  cavil  in  a  former 
part  of  our  argument.  He  does  not  force  our  actions. 
We  are  free  to  act  within  the  limits  of  the  constitution 
of  law  he  has  ordained,  —  but  he  does  control  the  con- 


252  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lect.  XII. 

sequences  of  our  actions,  else  would  he  cease  to  be  God, 
and  each  man  cease  to  be  his  subject.  Wise  and  good 
laws,  so  far  from  endangering  freedom,  are  essentially 
necessary  to  its  preservation  ;  and  all  the  laws  of  God  are 
infinitely  wise,  infinitely  good  ;  if  we  conform  to  them, 
we  live  ;  if  we  dash  ourselves  against  them,  we  perish. 

Is  it  objected  again,  that  such  particularity  is  beneath 
the  infinite  God  ?  We  answer,  that  as  it  was  not  be- 
neath him  to  create  particular  things,  it  cannot  be  to 
take  care  of  particular  things  ;  as  it  Avas  not  beneath 
him  to  ordain  particular  laws,  it  is  not  beneath  him  to 
execute  them  ;  it  is  not  beneath  him  to  know  each 
thing,  for  he  is  omniscient ;  it  is  not  beneath  him  to  do 
or  control  each  thing,  for  he  is  omnipotent ;  it  is  not 
beneath  him  to  be  everywhere,  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
beneath  him  to  be  everywhere  the  all-wise,  almighty 
Ruler  of  each  and  of  all  things  which  he  has  made. 

Is  it  further  objected,  that,  as  God  has  been  *  pleased 
to  create  things  in  a  perfect  system,  a  sufficient  impulse 
may  have  been  given  to  the  universe  as  a  whole  as  well 
as  in  its  parts,  and  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should 
continue  to  exercise  his  power,  but  might  leave  the  sys- 
tem to  evolve  itself  from  the  force  originally  given. 
We  answer,  (as  once  before,)  that  that  would  be  to 
make  the  organized  universe  a  machine,  such  as  men 
construct  to  assist  their  weakness.  God  sends  no  such 
contrivance,  and  it  is  far  more  in  accordance  with  his 
infinite  excellence  to  believe  that  his  power  is  every- 
where, and  continually,  directly  active.  The  almighty 
God  has  neither  difficulty  nor  weariness  in  his  works. 

Is  it  asked,  why,  then,  are  we  commanded  to  pray, 
since  God  acts  in  everything,  even  the  least,  according 
to  a  plan  which  he  will  not  alter  to  suit  our  wish  ?    We 


Lect.  XII.]  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF   GOD.  253 

ajiswer,  certainly  prayer  will  not  so  control  the  divine 
plan  as  to  make  it  vary  from  his  purpose,  for  then  the 
events  would  be  as  contradictory  as  are  the  wishes  of 
men  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  carries  on  his  plan  by 
operating  through  laws  he  has  seen  fit  to  impose  ;  and 
it  is  one  of  those  laws,  that  prayer  founded  upon  the 
promises  he  has  revealed  shall  be  answered,  a  law  as 
certain  in  its  operation  as  any  other,  though  we  cannot 
see  as  distinctly  the  connection  between  the  prayer  and 
its  fulfilment ;  and,  therefore,  prayer  must  be  used  to 
obtain  our  desires  from  God  as  much  as  any  physical 
law  regulating  what  is  called  cause  and  effect.  Thus 
the  grand  law  of  his  evangelical  system,  prescribed  to 
Christ  himself  its  mediatorial  head,  is  :  "  Ask  and  I 
will  give  thee."  For  observe,  that  God  does  not  en- 
gage to  answer  all  prayer,  but  prayers  offered  in  faith, 
or  prayer  based  upon  the  promises  he  has  revealed,  and, 
therefore,  prayer  for  things  agreeably  to  his  will. 
"  This,"  says  the  Apostle  John,  "  is  the  confidence 
that  we  have  in  him,  that  if  we  ask  anything  accord- 
ing to  his  will  he  heareth  us  ;  it  must  be  according  to 
his  directions  as  to  what  we  should  pray  for,  and  our 
prayer  is  the  method  through  which  his  will  is  accom- 
plished. By  prayer  we  put  ourselves  in  harmony  of 
purpose  with  himself,  and  in  his  answer  to  our  prayer, 
he  performs  his  own  will ;  still  the  prayer  is  the  method 
of  our  obtaining  what  we  desire,  without  which  the 
blessing  would  not  occur.  Various  good  reasons  might 
be  given,  if  we  had  the  time,  for  this  ordained  connec- 
tion between  prayer  and  the  event  sought  for  ;  but  the 
principal  are,  the  spiritual  benefit  it  is  of  to  the  peti- 
tioner, and  the  stimulus  it  gives  him  to  personal  exer- 
tion, according  to  the  divine  direction,  to  secure  the 


254  THE   PROVIDENCE   OF   GOD.  [Lect.  XII, 

things  we  pray  for  ;  because  the  blessing  is  not  vouch- 
safed to  those  who  only  pray,  but  to  those  who  work  as 
well  as  pray.  It  might  as  well  be  asked  wh}^,  since 
the  will  of  God  must  be  done,  we  must  work,  as  why 
should  we  pray  ?  The  will  of  God  must  be  done,  but 
it  is  done  by  answering  our  prayer,  and  blessing  our 
zeal ;  or,  equally,  in  withholding  from  us  what  we  de- 
sire because  we  do  not  pray  and  work.  The  law  is  not 
for  any  necessity  on  the  part  of  God,  since  he  is  su- 
premely independent  of  second  causes  ;  but  it  is  for  our 
benefit  that  we  may  be  brought  in  will  and  effort  to  a 
cordial  concurrence  with  God.  In  a  word,  prayer  with 
correspondent  action,  is  a  right  use  of  that  free  agency 
which  God  allows  us  under  the  laws  of  his  kingdom  ; 
and  not  the  least  evidence  of  his  fatherly  care  for  his 
human  children. 

Secondly  :  The  Practical  Lessons  which  the  doc- 
trine of  divine  Providence  suggests. 

What  advantage  is  it  for  us  to  knoiv  that  God  has 
created,  and  hy  his  providence  doth  still  uphold  all 
things  ? 

'^  That  we  may  be  patient  in  adversity,  thankful  in 
prosperity,  and  that  in  all  things  which  may  hereafter 
befall  us,  we  place  our  firm  trust  in  our  faithful  God 
and  Father,  that  nothing  shall  separate  us  from  his  love  ; 
since  all  creatures  are  so  in  his  hand,  that  without  his 
will  they  cannot  so  much  as  move." 

I.  To  adore  God,  the  Creator  and  Lord  of  Providence, 
as  our  Father  in  Christ. 

The  faith  which  iinites  us  to  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
makes  us  the  children  of  God.  Represented  by  Christ, 
we  are  made  partakers  of  all  the  blessings  which  he 
enjoys  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  all  the  rewards  which 


Lect.  XII.]  THE   PROVIDENCE   OF   GOD.  255 

he  has  earned  by  his  mediatorial  righteousness.  With 
him  the  Father  is  well  pleased,  and  for  his  sake  he  is 
Avell  pleased  witli  us,  unworthy  and  guilty  as  we  are  by 
nature,  because  washed  from  our  guilt  by  Christ's  blood 
and  covered  by  his  merits.  It  is,  therefore,  not  with 
slavish  fear,  but  a  reverent,  filial  boldness  that  we  are 
to  approach  God  through  Christ,  rejoicing  in  his  love, 
and  making  our  refuge  under  the  very  shadow  of  his 
throne. 

All  providence  has  been  committed  by  the  Father  to 
the  hands  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ;  and  he  administers 
it  for  the  advantage  of  the  adopted  family,  whose  Elder 
Brother  he  is,  as  a  Son  over  his  Father's  house.  All 
things  belong  to  God,  and  the  Father  hath  given  them 
all  to  the  Son,  and  the  Son  shares  them  all  with  us.  It 
is,  therefore,  as  heirs  of  God,  because  joint  heirs  with 
Christ,  that  we  are  to  worship  him  whose  all  things 
are,  assured  of  his  faithfulness  because  of  the  covenant 
which  God  has  made  with  us  in  Christ  our  Lord. 

This  spirit  of  adoption,  springs  from  no  imagination 
or  pretension  of  our  own,  but  from  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  sent  of  the  Father  through  the  Inter- 
cessor to  dwell  in  us  ;  and  is,  therefore,  the  voice  of 
God  in  our  hearts  calling  us  to  him  as  children  to  a 
Father.  It  is  the  Spirit  witnessing  with  our  spirits  that 
we  are  children  of  God  ;  nor  will  he  refiise  to  answer 
the  filial  reliance  which  he  has  himself  inspired.  Such 
in  general,  is  the  affectionate  sentiment  of  adoring  hom- 
age which  we  should  offer  to  God. 

II.  This  filial  adoration  will  cultivate  in  us  an  entire 
confidence  that  all  things  will  work,  and  are  working, 
for  our  good,  if  we  love  God.  Nothing  can  harm  us, 
for  all  things  are  under  his  control ;  everything  is  for 


256  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.  [Lkct.  XII. 

US,  because  all  things  are  directed  by  his  hand.  The 
end  of  providence  is  "  for  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace  "  in  Christ  Jesus,  wherein  he  hath  made  us  ac- 
cepted in  the  Beloved.  He  has  ordained  that  his 
glory  shall  be  in  the  full  salvation  of  his  Church,  and 
he  has  so  linked  our  blessedness  with  his  own,  that  his 
power  and  wisdom  and  truth  in  all  his  operations  are 
as  certainly  for  his  people  as  they  are  for  himself 

How  patient  then  should  we  be  in  adversitv  !  We 
call  many  trials  which  come  upon  us  here  adversity, 
for  such  is  the  common  phraseology  of  the  world  ;  but 
they  are  only  adversity  in  seeming  ;  they  cannot  be 
really  so  since  they  are  dispensed  by  our  Father's  hand. 
The  ways  of  providence  may  be  to  us  mysterious,  for 
how  can  we  enter  into  the  wisdom  of  God  ?  They 
may  seem  dilatory ;  for  we  cannot  see,  as  God  sees,  the 
end  with  the  beginning.  The  ways  of  providence  may 
seem  hard  ;  but  tlieir  hardness  is  only  the  merciful 
severity  of  a  wise  Father's  faithful  love,  disciplining 
us  to  a  fitness  for  a  higher  bliss. 

How  thankful  should  we  be  in  prosperity  !  When 
we  consider  how  tenderly  mindful  he  is  of  our  wants, 
how  rich  in  bounty  to  our  desires,  when,  as  a  Father 
rejoicing  among  his  children,  he  crowns  us  with  bless- 
ing. What  wisdom,  what  power,  what  riches  are 
exerted  for  our  good !  Surrounded  by  God,  upheld  by 
his  hand,  watched  by  his  eye,  cherished  by  his  love, 
defended  by  his  sovereignty,  how  precious  should  be 
all  the  proof  of  his  kindness,  —  kindness  purchased  for 
us  by  the  infinite  price  of  Christ's  atonement,  obtained 
for  us  by  Christ's  intercession,  and  ordered  for  us  by 
Christ's  authority  as  head  over  all  things. 

How  trustful  should  we  be  for  all  time  to  come !    He, 


Lect.  xil]  the  providence  of  god.  257 

who  has  been  at  such  cost  to  redeem  us  to  himself,  — 
M^ho  has  taken  us  out  of  our  guilt  and  misery  and  rebel- 
lion, to  make  us  children,  —  who  has  predestined  all 
things  for  our  eternal  happiness,  —  will  never  desert  us, 
never  leave  us  to  our  own  folly,  never  suffer  any  to  pluck 
us  out  of  his  hand !  His  word  is  passed,  and  he  Avill 
keep  his  covenant  as  long  as  his  power  shall  last. 

III.  But  how  sad  is  their  condition,  who,  because 
they  believe  not  in  Christ,  have  no  part  in  the  love  of 
God  !  If  all  things  work  together  for  the  good  of  those 
who  love  God,  all  things  must  work  against  those  who 
love  him  not.  Now  they  are  under  his  displeasure ;  but 
what  will  be  their  terrible  fate,  when  God,  long-suffer- 
ing no  longer,  arms  his  omnipotence  for  their  defeat, 
and  eternity  shall  cumulate  upon  them  the  fierceness 
of  his  wrath  !  O  my  people,  let  us  escape  while  we 
may,  and  cling  to  the  cross  of  him  who  sitteth  upon 
the  throne  ! 


17 


LECTURE  XIIL 

THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 


ELEVENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 

Quest.  XXIX.     Why  is  the  Son  of  God  called  Jesus,  that  is,  a  Saviour? 

Ass.  Because  he  saveth  us,  and  delivereth  us  from  our  sins ;  and  like- 
wise because  we  ought  not  to  seek,  neither  can  find  salvation  in  any 
other. 

Quest.  XXX.  Bo  such  then  believe  in  Jesus,  the  only  Saviour,  who  seek 
salvation  and  happiness  of  saints,  of  themselves,  or  anywhere  else  f 

Ans.  They  do  not ;  for,  though  they  boast  of  him  in  words,  yet  in  deeds 
they  denj'  Jesus,  the  only  deliverer  and  Saviour;  for  one  of  these  two 
things  must  be  true:  that  either  Jesus  is  not  a  complete  Saviour,  or 
that  they,  who  by  a  true  faith  receive  this  Saviour  must  find  all  things 
in  him  necessarj'^  to  salvation. 

TTAVING  exhibited  the  doctrine  of  "  God  the 
-^-'-  Father,"  as  professed  by  us  in  the  first  article  of 
the  creed,  we  are  now  to  enter  upon  the  doctrine 
we  hold  concerning  God  the  Son,  as  set  forth  in  the 
next  six  articles,  which  it  will  be  our  duty  to  discuss  in 
the  order  of  their  occurrence.  Following  this  arrange- 
ment, our  first  inquiry  is  respecting  the  meaning  of  the 
sevei-al  names,  or  rather  appellations  by  which  he  is 
revealed  to  our  faith,  as  our  Mediator  with  God  ; 

Jesus  Christy  His  only  begotten  Son,  our  Lord. 

The  first  only  of  these  is  properly  a  name,  designat- 
ing personal  individuality,  though  significant  of  the 
great  work  which  he  undertook  for  our  salvation : 
"  Thou  shalt,"  said  the  annunciating  angel  to  Joseph 
and  Mary  the  blessed  Virgin,  speaking  of  the  child  she 
should  bear  from  her  conception  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 


262  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIIL 

"  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins." 

The '  other  appellations  are  descriptive  epithets : 
"  Christ,"  of  his  anointment,  or  divine  consecration 
to  his  office  ;  "  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,"  of  his 
essentially  divine  nature  ;  and  "  Lord,"  of  his  media- 
torial authority  over  his  Church,  and  over  all  things 
for  his  Church. 

Our  lesson,  to-day,  is  on  the  name  Jesus. 

Jesus  !  How  does  the  very  word  overflow  with  ex- 
ceeding sweetness,  and  light,  and  joy,  and  love,  and 
life  !  Filling  the  air  with  odors,  like  precious  ointment 
poured  forth,  irradiating  the  mind  with  a  glory  of 
truth  in  which  no  fear  can  live,  soothing  the  wounds  of 
the  heart  with  a  balm  that  turns  its  sharpest  anguish 
into  delicious  peace  ;  shedding  through  the  soul  a  cor- 
dial of  immortal  strength  !  Jesus  !  the  answer  to  all 
our  doubts,  the  spring  of  all  our  courage,  the  earnest 
of  all  our  hopes,  the  charm  omnipotent  against  all  our 
foes,  the  remedy  for  all  our  sicknesses,  the  supply  of 
all  our  wants,  the  fulness  of  all  our  desires  !  Jesus, 
melody  to  our  ears,  altogether  lovely  to  our  sight, 
manna  to  our  taste,  living  water  to  our  thirst !  Jesus, 
our  shadow  from  the  heat,  our  refuge  from  the  storm, 
our  cloud  by  night,  our  morning  star,  our  sun  of  right- 
eousness !  Jesus,  at  the  mention  of  whose  name 
"  every  knee  shall  bow  and  every  tongue  confess  !  " 
Jesus  our  power,  Jesus  our  righteousness,  Jesus  our 
sanctification,  Jesus  our  redemption  !  Jesus  our  Elder 
Brother,  Jesus  our  Jehovah,  Jesus  our  Immanuel  ! 
Thy  name  is  the  most  transporting  theme  of  the  Chui'ch, 
as  they  sing  going  up  from  the  valley  of  tears  to  their 
home  on  the  mount  of  God  —  thy  name  shall  ever  be 


Lect.  XIIL]  the  name  OF  JESUS.  263 

the  richest  chord  in  the  harmony  of  heaven,  where  the 
angels  and  the  redeemed  unite  their  exulting,  adoring 
songs  around  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  Jesus, 
thou  only  canst  interpret  thy  own  name,  and  thou  hast 
done  it  by  thy  work  on  earth,  and  thy  glory  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father  :  Jesus,  Saviour  ! 

In  pursuing  our  meditations  on  this  most  delightful 
subject,  and  for  our  edification  through  a  better  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth  it  contains,  let  us  consider  :  — 
First  :   The  name  Jesus. 
Secondly  :   The  reason  of  it. 
Thirdly  :   The  practical  inferences. 
First  :  The  name  Jesus. 

I.  It  is  a  name.  Every  person  has  a  name  which 
distinguishes,  or  is  intended  to  distinguish  him  from 
every  other  person,  and  stands  as  the  sign  or  verbal 
representative  of  his  individual  self.  Thus  Jesus  was 
the  personal,  and,  eminently,  the  peculiar  name  of  the 
Son  of  God  incarnate,  the  name  to  which  all  his  other 
appellations  are  added  and  attributive ;  not  assumed  by 
him  after  he  had  reached  manhood,  but  given  to  him 
when  a  babe  ;  not  imposed  on  him  accidentally  or  by 
the  will  of  man,  but  appointed  for  him  by  God,  through 
a  special  revelation  which  an  angel  communicated,  be- 
fore he  was  born,  to  those  who  were  to  have  the  legal 
charge  of  his  tender  years  ;  and  so  appointed,  as  we 
are  divinely  taught,  because  in  its  etymology  significant 
of  the  gracious  design  of  God  which  he  should  accom- 
plish. 

II.  It  becomes  us,  therefore,  as  devout  and  deeply 
interested  students  of  unerring  Scripture,  to  search  out 
the  remarkable  significance  of  this  name  Jesus. 

The  revelation  by  the  angel  to  Joseph,  and,  because 


264  THE  NAME   OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  Xin. 

recorded,  to  us,  was :  "  Fear  not  to  take  unto  thee 
Mary  thy  wife,  for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her,  is  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  she  shall  bring  forth  a  son  ;  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  peo- 
ple from  their  sins."  Here  the  appropriateness  of  the 
name  is  asserted  from  its  radical  meaning. 

1.  The  word  Jesus,  though  exactly  transferred  to 
our  language  from  the  Greek  original  of  the  text, 
where  it  is  written  in  Greek  letters,  is  not  Greek  either 
in  form  or  derivation.  Some  have  erroneously  sup- 
posed that  it  is  a  verbal  noun  from  a  Greek  verb  signi- 
fying to  heal  or  to  cure  ;  and,  certainly,  he,  in  whom 
we  trust,  had  been  prophetically  called,  "  the  Lord  that 
healeth,"  "  who  healeth  all  our  diseases,"  and  his  blood 
described  as  a  balm  of  sovereign  efficacy  ;  and  we  are 
warranted  in  honoring  as  the  Great  Physician ;  still 
the  rule  of  the  Greek  language  will  not  allow  us  to 
admit  that  such  is  the  etymology  of  Jesus. 

2.  It  is  the  Hebrew  name  Joshua,  imitated,  as  nearly 
as  difference  of  language  would  permit,  in  Greek. 

Joshua,  from  its  remarkable  meaning  and  historical 
associations,  was  a  rather  common  name  among  the 
Jews,  who,  like  other  orientals,  were  fond  of  such  pre- 
tentious ostentation  ;  though  first  given  by  Moses 
under  divine  inspiration  to  the  son  of  Nun,  his  pious, 
heroic  successor  in  command  of  Israel ;  and  wherever 
there  was  occasion  to  record  it  in  Greek,  it  is  written 
Jesus,  as  when  Stephen  the  Martyr,  speaking  of  the 
tabernacle,  says :  "  which  our  fathers  that  came  after 
(Moses)  brought  in  with  Jesus  into  the  possession  of 
the  Gentiles,  whom  God  drave  out  before  the  face  of 
our  fathers  ; "  and  as  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,   speaking  of   that   Canaan   as   only  a  type, 


Lect.  XIU.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  265 

says  :  "  If  Jesus  had  given  them  rest,  then  would  not 
he  (the  Psalmist  from  whom  he  had  been  quoting)  not 
afterwards  have  spoken  of  another  day."  It  is,  there- 
fore, to  the  original  bestowal  of  the  name  on  the  vic- 
torious leader  of  the  Tribes  that  we  must  turn  for  its 
proper  etymology.  This  we  find  in  Numbers  xiii.  16 : 
"  Moses  called  Oshea,  the  son  of  Nun,  Jehoshua,"  or, 
as  it  is  afterwards  written  in  our  English  Vulgate, 
Joshua.  Now,  as  in  Hebrew  the  consonants  only  are 
the  radical  letters  of  a  word,  this  was  easily  turned  to 
Jeshua,  which  by  substituting  the  Greek  termination  s 
for  the  Hebrew  a,  and  by  throwing  out  the  aspirate  7i, 
which  the  Greeks  never  used  except  in  the  beginning 
of  a  word,  we  have  :  Jesus. 

It  is  at  once  seen  that  this  change  from  Oshea  to 
Joshua,  was  significant  of  some  great  prophetic  truth. 
Oshea  and  Jehoshua  are  derivatives  from  the  same 
verb ;  but  Oshea  is  from  the  present,  probably  the  im- 
perative, and  signifies  simply  Save,  or  Saviour  :  the 
prefix  of  the  letter  we  represent  by  J,  shows  Jehoshua 
to  be  from  the  future,  and  it  signifies :  He  shall  save. 
This  is  not,  however,  all.  The  letter  prefixed  is  the 
initial  letter  of  the  peculiar  name  of  God,  Jehovah,  or 
Jah ;  and,  according  to  the  constant  symbolical  habit 
of  revealed  language,  conveys  a  certain  divine  empha- 
sis and  dignified  sense ;  so  that  Jehoshua  may  be  inter- 
preted The  Lord  (Jah)  shall  save,  or  more  freely  :  TJie 
Lord  shall  save  through  or  in  or  hy  Oshea. 

Let  us  compare  with  this  what  the  Lord  says  in 
Exodus  xxiii.  26  -  23  :  "  Behold,  I  send  an  Angel 
before  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  the  way,  and  to  bring  thee 
into  the  place  which  I  have  prepared.  Beware  of  him, 
and  obey  his  voice  ;  provoke  him  not,  for  he  will  not 


266  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.XIII. 

pardon  your  transgressions ;  for  my  name  is  in  him. 
But  if  thou  shalt  indeed  obey  his  voice,  and  do  all  that 
I  speak  ;  then  I  will  be  an  enemy  unto  thine  enemies, 
and  an  adversary  unto  thine  adversaries.  For  mine 
Angel  shall  go  before  thee,  and  bring  thee  in  unto  the 
Amorites,  and  the  Hittites,  and  the  Perizzites,  and  the 
Canaanites,  the  Hivites,  and  the  Jebusites;  and  I  will 
cut  them  off."  Now,  doubtless,  the  angel  here  spoken 
of  is  the  great  Angel  of  the  covenant,  or  of  the  pres- 
ence, who  dwelling  in  the  Shekinah,  the  pillar  of  cloud 
and  fire,  led  the  tribes  to  their  conquest  of  the  prom- 
ised land  ;  and  by  the  name  of  God  in  him  we  are  to 
understand  the  authority  or  power  which  the  divine  name 
represents.  But  it  is  as  certain  that  Joshua  was  the  hu- 
man, visible  instrument  through  whose  personal  agency 
the  work  of  the  divine  Angel  was  done.  Hence  the 
sacred  propriety  of  changing  his  name  to  one  which 
should  have  the  Divine  name  in  it :  Oshea  into  Jehoshua. 
Yet  further :  The  Angel  of  the  covenant,  we  have 
strong  reason  to  believe,  was  none  other  than  the  Sec- 
ond Person  of  the  ever-adorable  Godhead,  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  typical  Israel ;  he  who  in  the  fulness  of 
time  would  come,  —  blessed  be  his  name  !  has  come  —  to 
be  in  human  form  the  Saviour  of  the  true  Israel,  the 
church.  Hence  Joshua  was  a  double  type,  of  the  then 
present,  though  unseen.  Saviour,  the  Angel  of  the 
covenant,  and  of  the  Saviour,  who,  according  to  cove- 
nant and  promise,  was  to  bring  his  people  into  their 
heavenly  rest.  The  divine  name  was  in  the  name  of 
the  human  Saviour  by  whom  God  gave  the  triumph  to 
Israel  of  old,  as  a  typical  prophecy  that  Jehovah,  the 
Angel  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  would  be  incarnate 
as  the  Saviour  of  his  people.      This  is  established  by 


Lect.  Xril.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  267 

the  testimony  of  the  Evangelist  Matthew,  following  his 
record  of  the  annunciation  to  Joseph  :  "  Now  all  this 
was  clone  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of 
the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying :  Behold  a  virgin  shall 
be  with  child  and  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  they  shall 
call  his  name  Emmanuel,  which  being  interpreted  is, 
God  with  us."  The  prophecy  was  fulfilled  not  only  in 
the  birth  of  Christ  as  the  son  of  a  virgin,  but  also  in 
the  import  of  his  name,  the  interpretation  of  which  cor- 
responds with  that  which  we  have  given  of  the  word 
Jesus.  Such,  we  believe,  is  the  majestic  import  of 
the  most  precious  name  Jesus  —  Jehovah-Jesus  ;  for 
in  him  who  received  it  at  his  circumcision,  and  now 
bears  it  on  his  throne  of  highest  glory,  our  Elder 
Brother,  the  born  of  woman,  we  recognize,  adore,  and 
trust  the  Emmanuel,  God  with  us. 

We  are  now,  in  answer  to  the  29th  Question  of  the 
Catechism :  "  WJiy  is  the  Son  of  God  called  Jesus, 
that  is.  Saviour  ?  "  to  declare. 

Secondly  :  The  reason  on  account  of  ivhich  tJie  name 
of  Jesus  belongs  hy  divine  appointment  to  the  Son  of  God 
incarnate. 

This  is  stated  by  the  Catechism  :  — 

"  Because  he  saveth  us  and  delivereth  us  from  our 
sins ;  and,  likewise,  because  we  ought  not  to  seek 
neither  can  find  salvation  in  any  other." 

If  the  first  part  of  the  answer  be  proved,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  second  follows  necessarily ;  and,  therefore, 
will  come  appropriately  under  our  third  head.  For  the 
present,  we  occupy  ourselves  with  the  first  clause : 
"  Because  he  saveth  us  and  delivereth  us  from  all  our 
sins  ; "  the  thought  in  which  is  taken  fi'om  the  annun- 
ciation of  the  angel  to  Joseph,  Matthew  i.  21 :    "  Thou 


268  IHE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIIl. 

shall  call  his  name  Jesus  ;  for  he  shall  save  his  people 
fi'om  theii'  sins."  This  brings  before  us  three  questions : 
I.  From  what  doth  Jesus  save  ?  II.  How  doth  he 
save?  III.  Whom  doth  he  save?  Or,  the  Nature, 
the  Manner,  and  the  Objects  of  his  salvation. 

I.  The  nature  of  the  salvation  by  Jesus.  "  He  shall 
save  his  people /rom  their  Siws." 

All  men  are  sinners  ;  the  people  of  Christ  are  sin- 
ners, for  he  "  came  into  the  world  to  save  "  —  not  the 
righteous,  but  "  sinners."  Now,  because  sin  is  a 
violation  of  the  law  of  God,  who  denounces  the  most 
terrible  consequences  upon  all  who  shall  be  guilty  of  so 
offending  his  holy  majesty,  all  sinners  are  in  a  state  of 
ruin,  or,  as  the  Scripture  strongly  expresses  it,  "  lost," 
except  they  be  saved  from  their  sins  ;  which,  the  Gospel 
everywhere  asserts,  can  be  accomplished  only  by  the 
mediatorial  work  of  Jesus  Chkist.  Thus,  "  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  to  do  them."  "  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made 
a  curse  for  us."  Again  :  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin  ;  and  so  death  passed  upon  all 
men  for  that  all  have  sinned."  "  Where  sin  abounded, 
grace  did  much  more  abound  ;  that  as  sin  hath  reigned 
unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  unto  eternal  life, 
by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  From  these,  and  many 
other  synonymous  passages,  we  see,  that  the  salvation 
which  sinners  need,  and  which  Christ  accomplishes  for 
his  people,  is  twofold  :  From  the  wrath  of  God,  and 
from  our  sins  themselves ;  or  from  the  penalty  of  sin, 
and  the  power  of  sin. 

1.  From  the  wrath  of  God,  the  penalty  of  sin.  Sin 
is  the  very  opposite  of  the  divine  holiness,  and  a  direct 


Lect.  xni.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  269 

violation  of  that  moral  order,  which,  after  the  pattern 
of  his  own  blessed  character,  he  has  ordained  for  the 
happiness  of  his  human  creatures,  in  conformity  with 
the  general  laws  of  his  moral  universe.  It  must, 
therefore,  be  that  sin  is  ever  to  God  an  object  of  his 
infinite  disgust  and  hate  ;  but,  as  he  is  the  moral  Gov- 
ernor of  the  world,  it  becomes  necessary  to  his  truth, 
his  justice,  and  even  to  his  sovereignty,  that  he  should 
punish  sin  by  whomsoever  and  howsoever  committed. 
The  laws  which  he  has  established  are  the  rules  of  his 
administration  as  well  as  of  our  conduct,  and  extend  in 
their  exceeding  breadth  over  every  possible  particular 
of  our  moral  action.  His  sovereignty  is  so  complete 
that  at  no  moment  we  can  in  thought,  word,  or  deed, 
put  ourselves  beyond  our  responsibility.  But  the  pen- 
alty he  denounces  is  equally  explicit :  "  The  soul  that 
sinneth,  it  shall  die."  Every  soul  that  sins,  by  the 
very  fact  of  his  sin,  comes  under  the  divine  displeasure 
not  only,  but  under  the  penalty  of  the  divine  law,  and 
a  penalty  which  is  extreme  ;  for  it  is  death,  wdiich  from 
its  very  nature  is  perpetual,  there  being  no  escape  out 
of  death  or  any  return  from  it.  A  sentence  to  impris- 
onment or  any  other  form  of  punishment  for  a  term  of 
years,  short  of  the  natural  life,  may  be  served  out  and 
the  convict  recover  his  freedom ;  even  should  it  be  for 
the  whole  of  his  natural  life,  he  may  have  the  sentence 
reversed  after  he  has  suffered  some  time ;  but  an  inflic- 
tion of  death  as  a  penalty  is  final,  and  once  that  it  has 
been  executed,  nothing  but  the  power  of  God  in  giving 
a  new  life  can  restore  from  it.  The  ruin  of  the  sinner 
is,  therefore,  utter,  perpetual,  irremediable,  except  by 
the  intervention  of  some  divine  method  which  shall 
justify  God  who  ordained  and  has  inflicted  the  penalty, 


270  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIII. 

in  pardoning  the  sinner,  and  in  recovering  liini  fi-om 
under  its  power  by  quickening  him  with  a  new  hfe. 

Farther  :  The  penalty  of  death,  though  perpetual 
like  death,  is  not  annihilation  or  insensibility.  The 
soul,  though  it  dies,  ceases  not  to  be,  nor  loses  its  con- 
sciousness or  sensitiveness.  It  is  a  moral  death.  As 
the  favor  of  God  is  life,  and  he,  who  has  that  favor  is 
conscious  of  the  divine  love,  enjoying  with  keen  delight 
the  holy  pleasures  which  flow  from  that  love  ;  so  death 
is  the  divine  wrath  on  the  soul,  and  he,  who  is  under 
its  j)ower,  is  conscious  of  the  terrible  doom,  suffering 
with  keenest  anguish  the  infamous  tortures  which  pour 
forth  from  that  wrath.  We  can  measure  the  ruin  of 
the  sinner  only  by  the  eternity,  the  inexorableness,  the 
fierceness  of  the  divine  anger  against  sin,  "  Even 
according  to  thy  fear,  so  is  thy  wrath."  "  Tell  me," 
said  one  whom  faith,  not  genius,  made  eloquent,  "  tell 
me  what  the  wrath  of  God  is,  and  I  can  tell  you  the 
sweetness  of  the  name  he  bears  who  delivers  me  from 
it;  Jesus,  my  Saviour." 

2.  From  our  sins  themselves,  or  their  power  over  us. 
It  is  clear  that  our  salvation  must  be  more  radical  than 
from  the  penalty.  The  penalty  is  consequent  upon  the 
evil  in  us  that  is  behind  it.  God  is  angry  with  us  be- 
cause of  our  sins,  so  that  our  sins  are  the  procuring 
cause  of  our  death  —  they  would  bring  death  on  our 
souls,  even  if  there  were  (what  it  is  impossible  to  sup- 
pose) no  judicial  infliction  of  death  as  a  legal  penalty. 
The  whole  nature  of  things,  the  very  character  of  the 
ever-blessed  God  must  be  changed,  before  a  soul  can 
sin  and  not  die.  The  first  act  of  sin  puts  us  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  law  of  life.  It  is  like  a  taint  of  leprosy,  a 
fatal,  infectious  plague  which  mortifies  all  our  moral 


Lect.  XIII.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  271 

spiritual  being,  corrupting  our  powers,  depraving  our 
perceptions,  and,  not  only  incapacitating  us  to  recover 
ourselves,  but  tending  surely,  constantly,  rapidly  to 
greater  disease,  loathsome  decay,  deformity,  and  an- 
guish. Its  power  over  us  is  not  the  less,  but  greater, 
because  a  marked  symptom  of  it  is  an  insane  love  of 
the  mortal  cause,  a  wilful  determination  to  persevere  in 
courting  the  contagion.  Our  death  is  not  less  certain, 
because  our  moral  practice  is  a  continued  suicide. 

Nay,  even  were  it  possible  that,  our  moral  nature 
continuing  as  it  is,  God  should  remit  the  penalty  of  our 
past  transgressions,  the  suspension  of  his  wrath  would 
be  but  for  a  moment ;  because,  instantly  sinning  again, 
we  should  incur  fresh  guilt ;  and,  again,  yet  more 
guilt ;  so  that  the  pardon  would  need  to  be  repeated 
as  often  as  sin  would  be  committed  ;  a  course  utterly 
irreconcilable  with  the  faintest  sense  of  justice. 
What  mockery  would  it  be,  if  human  laws  were  so 
neutralized,  if  immediately  on  sentence  being  passed 
upon  him  for  one  crime,  a  pardon  would  set  the 
criminal  free  to  commit  new  offences,  the  penalty  of 
each  successively  remitted  as  often  as  he  was  sentenced  ? 
What  authority  would  there  be  in  such  a  government  ? 
What  security  would  there  be  for  the  subjects  it  claimed 
to  protect?  What  hope  even  for  the  reform  of  the 
transgressor,  thus  encouraged  by  impunity  to  laugh  at 
the  cobweb  restraint,  and  to  harden  himself  by  habitual 
crime?  Can  such  weak,  false  lenity  be  tolerated  in 
the  government  of  God  ? 

Salvation  must,  therefore,  be  radical  as  the  cause  of 
the  ruin.  The  sinfulness  of  the  sinner  which  is  the 
occasion  of  the  divine  wrath,  the  very  cause  of  hell, 
nay,  in  its  own  workings,  itself  hell,  must  be  eradicated. 


272  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIII. 

A  new  virtue  of  life  must  be  infused,  to  meet  in  our 
corrupted  system  the  fatal  virus^  to  counteract  its 
corruption,  to  overcome  and  to  drive  it  out  by  a  return- 
ing vigor  and  health,  fi'om  a  divine  power.  In  a  word 
and  without  a  figure,  we  need  to  be  set  free  from  sin, 
to  be  delivered  from  the  power  it  has  over  us,  to  have 
the  bent  of  our  inclinations  changed  upward  toward 
God  and  holiness,  to  receive  strength  for  the  conquest 
of  evil  habits  and  the  resistance  of  temptations  ;  nay, 
in  the  strong  language  of  Scripture,  to  be  "  born  again," 
that  we  may  come  out  into  the  world  as  thoroughly 
changed  in  our  principles,  purposes,  desires,  and  motives, 
as  if  we  had  been  created  anew  with  a  nature  morally 
the  opposite  of  that  which  we  have  had  and  manifested 
from  our  first  birth. 

Ah  !  my  brethren,  now  we  see  the  reason  of  the  di- 
vine name  being  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Who  but  God 
can  deliver  from  the  wrath  of  God  ?  Who  but  he  who 
created  man  at  first  in  the  image  of  God,  can  create 
us  anew  and  re-stamp  the  divine  likeness  on  our  souls  ! 

II.  The  method  of  salvation. 

How  doth  Jesus  save  his  people  from  their  sins  ? 
Like  the  nature  of  salvation,  the  method  of  it  must  be 
twofold  :  By  his  atoning  merits,  and  by  his  sanctifying 
grace  ;  the  first  of  which  delivers  his  people  from  the 
wrath  of  God,  the  penalty  of  sin  ;  the  second,  from  the 
power  of  their  sins  over  them. 

1.  His  atoning  merits. 

The  word  lost,  or  ruined,  supposes  not  only  present 
calamity,  but  a  loss  of  former  prosperity,  the  ruin  of  a 
former  happiness.  Hence,  also,  we  speak  of  man  as 
fallen^  and  of  the  act,  which  occasioned  our  present 
misery,  as  the  fall.     The  Scripture  teaches  us  that  our 


Lect.  XIIL]  the  name  OF  JESUS.  27,3 

race,  as  represented  by  our  first  parent,  was  created 
with  a  likeness. to   God   and    originally  enjoyed    the 
divine  favor,  which   the  Scripture,  as  has  been  stated, 
denominates  life.     The  condition  on  which  this  favor 
was  to  be  continued  could  be  no  other  than  his  con- 
formity to  his  divine  pattern  by  obedience  to  the  divine 
commandments  ;  the  penalty  of  his  disobedience  was, 
necessarily,  death,  the  entire  withdrawal  of  divine  like- 
ness, the  infliction   of  divine   wrath,   and   consequent 
misery.     In   order,  therefore,  to   our  full  restoration, 
there  must  be  a  reconcilement  to  God.     This  is  what 
is  meant,   properly,   by  atonement.      God  and  sinful 
man  have  been  divided  ;  it  is  necessary  for  our  salva- 
tion that  we  be  at-owe  again  with  God.     Atonement 
is  often  used  to  signify  the  basis  of  the  reconciliation, 
as  the  procuring  cause  of  the  effect ;  but  radically,  it 
is  the  reconciliation,  the  atonement  itself. 

Now  to  this  reconciliation,  the  full  restoration  from 
the  misery  into  which  we  are  fallen  because  of  the 
divine  wrath,  it  is  necessary  that  the  law  which  we 
have  broken  should  be  so  satisfied  as  to  justify  our  holy, 
divine  Sovereign  in  removing  from  our  souls  the  curse 
of  his  wrath  and  taking  us  again  into  his  approving 
favor.  This  justification  of  his  mercy  it  pleased  God, 
out  of  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  to  provide 
in  the  vicarious  merits  of  Christ,  who  took  our  place 
under  the  law,  that  all  who  beheve  in  him  might  be 
admitted  to  his  place  in  the  divine  regard  ;  and,  hence, 
we  call  them  his  atoning  merits.  The  infinite  pro- 
priety, wisdom,  and  mercy  of  the  sinner's  salvation 
through  the  righteousness  of  a  sufficient  substitute,  the 
necessity  of  both  a  divine  and  human  nature  for  the 
personal   constitution    of  such   a   substitute,    and    the 

VOL.   I.  18 


274  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.XIIL 

divine  appointment  of  Jesus,  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God,  and  the  miraculously  conceived  S.on  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  the  Emmanuel,  to  be  that  substitute,  — 
Avere  all  demonstrated  at  length  in  our  lectures  on  the 
lessons  for  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Lord's  Days.  It  is  now 
requisite  only  that  we  refresh  our  memories  and  our 
hearts  with  a  mention  of  what  Christ,  as  our  atoning 
substitute,  did  on  behalf  of  his  people.  His  work  was 
twofold :  Expiation  of  our  sins,  and  obedience  to  the 
divine  law. 

For  the  law  of  God,  unlike  most  human  laws,  not 
only  threatened  the  transgressor  of  it  with  punishment, 
but  also  proposed  reward  for  our  obedience.  We  are, 
therefore,  because  of  our  sin,  not  only  exposed  to  the 
wrath  of  God,  but  without  any  possible  claims  to  his 
favor.  Even  were  the  penalty  remitted,  no  blessing 
could  be  justly  bestowed  upon  us,  because  we  are  not 
entitled  to  the  reward  of  obedience.  Before  God  can, 
consistently  with  his  own  word,  receive  us  back  to  his 
love,  not  only  must  the  guilt  of  our  sins  (by  which  we 
mean  our  liability  to  punishment)  be  taken  from  us, 
but  there  must  also  be  provided  a  perfect  obedience,  the 
reward  of  which  may  be  bestowed  upon  us.  Thus 
Jesus  took  upon  him  the  guilt  of  his  people's  sins,  and 
satisfied  the  penalty  which  they  had  incurred,  by  his 
death  on  the  cross  ;  but  he  also,  by  his  previous  active 
obedience,  purchased,  or  earned,  or  became  entitled  to 
the  reward  of  divine  favor,  which,  according  to  his 
covenant  with  the  Father,  is  transferred  to  those  who 
accept  his  substitution  for  them  by  believing  on  his 
name.  This  is  what  theologians  technically  call  impu- 
tation —  the  imputation  of  our  sins  to  Christ,  and  the 
imputation  of  his  righteous  obedience  to  us;  by  which 


Lect.XUL]  the  name  OF  JESUS.  275 

we   are   to  understand,  not  that  our  sins  become  his 
sins,  for  that  is  impossible  as    personal  acts   are   not 
transferable,  or  that  his  righteousness  becomes  our  per- 
sonal obedience,  which  is  alike  impossible,  but  that  the 
legal  consequence  of  our  sins,  which  is  death,  is  inflicted 
on  him,  and  the  legal  consequences  of  his  obedience, 
which  is  life,  is  conferred  on  us.     Even  as  the  apostle 
says  :  "  All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us 
to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the 
ministry  of   reconciliation  :    to  wit,  that  God  was  m 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not  imput- 
ing their  trespasses  unto  them  ;  and  hath  committed 
unto  us  the  word  of  reconciliation.     Now,  then,  we  are 
ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you 
by  us ;  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God.     For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness 
of  God  in  him."     Jesus  is  our  Saviour  in  both  ways  : 
his  expiatory  death,  and  his  active  obedience,  constitut- 
ing the  ground  on  which  the  sinner  that  believes  in  • 
him  is  reconciled  to  God  ;  and  not  only  relieved  from 
the  penalty  of  death,  but  also  restored  to  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  divine  favor.      His  death  saves  us  from  hell  ; 
his   obedience  entitles  us  to  heaven  ;  but  in  both  the 
merit  is  all  his,  and  to  him  be  the  glory  ! 

2.  His  sanctifying  grace,  by  which  he  delivers  us 
from  the  power  of  our  sins.  We  have  seen  under  our 
former  head,  what,  alas !  we  know  by  sad  experience, 
that  sin  corrupts  our  whole  nature,  giving  us  such  an 
inclination  to  sin  more  and  more  that  even  pardon  itself 
cannot  deliver  us  from  the  misery  which  is  its  inevita- 
ble consequence.  The  Scripture  represents  this  deprav- 
ity as  a  bondage  to  sin.     Such  is  its  power  over  us  that 


276  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIII 

though  its  chains  are  willingly  worn,  we  have  not  moral 
strength  to  break  them ;  and  the  bondage  is  ago-ravated 
by  bringing  us  under  the  power  of  the  devil,  the  great 
tempter,  and  of  his  two  principal  instruments  of  temp- 
tation, —  the  world  and  the  flesh.  Thus,  our  sins  are 
denominated  our  enemies,  w^ho  oppose  our  entrance  to 
heavenly  rest,  as  the  Canaanites  did  the  entrance  of 
Israel  to  the  promised  land  ;  and  from  them  our  Joshua 
must  deliver  us  by  a  victory  which  we  cannot  accom- 
plish of  ourselves.  So  the  father  of  the  Baptist  speaks 
of  Jesus  as  "  a  horn  (or  strength)  of  salvation  "  sent  to 
fulfil  the  promise  which  God  "  sware  unto  Abraham, 
that  he  would  grant  unto  us  that  we,  being  delivered 
out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies,  might  serve  in  holi- 
ness and  righteousness  before  him  all  the  days  of  our 
life."  For,  if  we  be  free  from  the  power  of  our  sins, 
we  are  safe  from  all  enemies,  because  none  "  can  harm 
us  if  we  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good."  This 
deliverance  from  sin  is  called,  theologically,  sanctifica- 
tion,  is  begun  in  the  conversion  of  the  sinner,  and  car- 
ried on  until  he  is  made  perfect  in  glory.  It  is  gradual 
for  wise  reasons ;  and  among  them,  obviously,  because 
the  divine  process  is  conducted  through  the  operation 
of  the  sinner's  own  faculties.  The  immediate  agent  in 
this  sanctification  to  whose  power  the  several  steps  in 
the  process  is  attributed  by  the  Scriptures,  is  the  Holy 
Ghost.  He  it  is  that  begets  us  again  in  regeneration, 
dwells  as  a  new  life  in  our  hearts,  enlightens  our  under- 
standing, turns  our  affections  upward  to  God,  invigor- 
ates our  faltering  will  to  determine  good,  and  by  faith  in 
the  gospel  transforms  us  from  rebels  to  children  of  God. 
But,  as  we  shall  consider  at  large  this  sanctifying  wori. 
©f  the  Holy  Ghost,  when  we  come  to  the  lesson  for  the 


Lect.XIIL]  the  name  OF  JESUS.  277 

Twentieth  Lord's  Day,  we  shall  now  briefly  note  the 
sense  in  which  our  deliverance  from  the  power  of  sin  is 
ascribed  to  Jesus. 

a.  He  obtains  for  us  by  the  prayers  of  his  interces- 
sion, based  on  the  merits  of  his  life  and  death,  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  When  he  had  accom- 
plished a  righteousness  of  infinite  value,  and  the  Father, 
well  pleased  with  his  woi'k,  said  :  "  Ask,  and  I  will 
give  thee,"  the  Mediator  asked  that  the  various  graces 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  might  be  given  him  for  his  people. 
Accordingly,  we  find  that  immediately  on  the  Saviour's 
beD-inning;  his  intercession  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  the 
Spirit  was  sent  down  on  the  multitudes  of  the  Pente- 
cost, and  has  never  ceased  to  dwell  with  his  true  church 
or  in  the  heart  of  every  true  believer.  So  says  the 
prophetic  Psalmist :  "  Thou  hast  ascended  on  high ; 
thou  hast  led  captivity  captive  ;  thou  hast  received  gifts 
for  men  ;  yea,  for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the  Lord 
God  might  dwell  among  them.  Blessed  be  the  Lord, 
who  daily  loadeth  us  with  benefits,  even  the  God  of 
our  salvation  ;  "  and  our  Lord  at  the  Last  Supper :  "  I 
will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever,  even 
the  Spirit  of  truth."  All  the  effects  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  without  whose  grace  we  can  do  nothing,  —  faith, 
repentance,  love,  hope,  peace,  holy  desires,  and  all  good 
works,  —  thus  come  from  Jesus,  because  of  his  merits. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  emphatically  Hu  Spirit ;  the  Spirit 
of  the  Son  of  God,  our  Saviour.  We  have  nothing  of 
our  own  ;  all  that  is  good  in  us,  all  the  good  we 
ever  shall  or  can  have  in  us,  is  the  result  of  his 
work  and  the  answer  of  his  prayers.  "  It  pleased 
the  Father   that    in    him    should   all   fulness   dwell ; " 


278  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIII. 

"  and  of  his  fulness  have  all  we  received,  and  grace 
for  grace." 

h.  The  instrument  by  which  the  Holy  Spirit  accom- 
plishes the  work  of  sanctification  is  the  Word  of  God, 
which,  from  its  beginning  to  its  end,  testifies  of  Christ. 
The  legitimate  effect  of  the  Gospel  when  applied  to  the 
soul  of  the  sinner  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  "  work  by 
love,"  to  "  purify  the  heart,  and  to  give  victory  over 
the  world."  The  love  of  Jesus  is  the  great  convert- 
ing, animating,  sanctifying  argument  and  motive  over 
all  that  is  evil  in  our  natures,  and  corrupting  in  the 
world  around  us.  It  is  the  divine  story  of  his  conde- 
scension Mdiich  brought  him  to  earth,  his  incarnation  as 
the  Babe  of  Bethlehem  that  he  might  be  very  man ; 
his  sorrowful  experience  of  human  griefs  and  human 
temptations,  that  he  might  assure  his  people  of  his 
sympathy ;  his  pure  example  of  human  virtue  that  he 
might  mark  the  way  to  heaven  ;  his  bitter  death  on  the 
cross  that  he  might  pluck  the  sting  from  the  last  enemy ; 
his  resurrection  in  his  crucified  body,  and  his  ascension 
with  that  human  body  scarred  by  the  thorns,  and  nails, 
and  spear,  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  that  as  the 
second  Adam  he  might  be  head  over  all  things  to  his 
Church ;  and  the  blessed  conviction,  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  bears  home  on  the  penitent  soul  that  all  this  love, 
and  humiliation,  and  suffering,  and  righteousness  and 
death,  and  power  and  glory,  were  for  every  one  who 
believes,  which  melts  the  obdurate,  encourages  the  fear- 
ful, strengthens  the  weak,  and  keeps  the  unstable. 
No  one  can  have  a  heartfelt  conviction  of  a  love  so  great 
without  an  answering  affection  ;  and  the  sentiment  of 
every  Christian  soul  must  be  that  of  the  glowing  Apos- 
tle when  he  says :  "  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us. 


I,ECT.  XIII.]  THE  NAME   OF  JESUS.  279 

because  we  thus  judge  that  if  oae  died  for  all,  then 
were  all  dead,  and  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which 
live  should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but 
unto  him  which  died  for  them  and  rose  again."  The 
transformation  is  not  immediate,  but,  for  wise  reasons, 
gradual ;  yet  it  is  certain,  because  every  one  "  that  hath 
this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure ;  " 
and  because  it  is  written,  "  He  shall  save  his  people 
from  their  sins."  The  sanctifying  process  which  is 
begun  in  the  regeneration  of  the  penitent  will  be  car- 
ried on  until  it  is  comiDlete  in  his  celestial  life  ;  and  the 
sinner  whom  Jesus  saves,  is  lifted  from  the  depths  of 
corruption  to  the  height  of  holiness. 

III.  The  objects  of  the  salvation  by  Jesus. 

Here  we  need  but  little  argument.  The  text  decides 
at  once  who  they  are  whom  Jesus  saves,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  salvation  confirms  the  text. 

1.  "  He  shall  save  his  joeopZe." 

It  is  our  high  privilege  to  believe  that  the  merits  of 
Christ,  substantially  considered,  are  infinite.  His  hu- 
man nature,  however  pure,  his  human  righteousness, 
however  perfect,  his  human  sufferings,  however  great, 
must,  like  all  that  pertains  to  the  human  creature,  be 
finite.  Had  our  Jesus  been  only  man,  he  could,  at 
best,  have  saved  only  himself,  because  he  could  not 
have  transcended  the  obligations  M^hich  every  man  is 
personally  under  to  God.  But  our  Jesus  was  not,  is 
not,  a  mere  man.  Even  his  humanity  was  miraculously 
engendered  and  sanctified,  though  real.  He  was  Jesus, 
the  Emmanuel,  God  with  us  ;  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God  in  the  Son  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  He,  existing 
from  all  eternity  in  the  form  of  God,  took  to  his  divin- 
ity the  nature  of  humanity  ;  and  it  is  from  this  union 


280  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XIII. 

of  his  infinite  divinity  with  our  finite  humanity,  that 
the  obedience  and  expiation  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus 
derive  their  value,  and,  therefore,  their  value  must  be 
infinite. 

It  is  not,  however,  of  their  absolute  value  that  we 
now  speak,  but  of  their  application.  Had  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  been  pleased  so  to  apply  the  sav- 
ing merits  of  Jesus,  they  would  be  sufficient  for  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  though  the  race  were  millions  of 
times  more  numerous  than  it  is  ;  but  we  know  that  all 
men  are  not  saved,  because  those  who  do  not  believe 
are  lost.  The  salvation  of  Jesus  cannot,  therefore,  be 
applied  to  all  men.  Yet  it  is  equally  clear  that  Jesus 
cannot  have  failed  in  his  purpose  or  any  part  of  it ; 
and,  therefore,  that  his  people  whom  he  came  to  save 
are  not  all  men,  but  those  among  men  who  are  his  in 
some  peculiar  sense. 

It  is,  also,  undoubtedly  true  that  the  provisions  for 
the  pardon  of  sin  in  the  merits  of  Christ  are  so  great, 
so  infinitely  great,  as  to  assure  every  sinner  who  will 
believe  on  his  name  of  acceptance  and  everlasting  life ; 
but  it  is  as  true  that  no  sinner  will  believe  except  under 
the  constraining  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  If  then 
the  salvation  of  Christ's  people  depended  on  the  con- 
tingency of  their  unassisted  faith,  or  faith  not  wrought 
in  them  by  divine  grace,  none  would  be  saved,  and  the 
purpose  of  Jesus  has  failed.  The  language  of  the 
text,  however,  is  not  that  Jesus  will  offer  salvation  to 
all  men,  which,  blessed  be  his  name !  he  does  ;  but  that 
he  shall,  positively,  certainly  "  shall  save  his  people ;  " 
and  as  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  which  faith  is 
wrought  in  the  soul,  has  been  purchased  by  his  merit 
and  is  given  by  him,  the  inference  is  irresistible  that 


Lect.  XIII.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  281 

Jesus  not  only  offers  his  salvation  to  all  men,  but  actu- 
ally and  infallibly  secures  and  will  accomplish  the  sal- 
vation of  his  people.  Therefore,  the  Master  himself 
says  :  "  I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep, 
and  am  known  of  mine  ;  .  .  .  and  I  lay  down  my  life 
for  the  sheep."  Again  :  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth 
me  shall  come  to  me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will 
in  no  wise  cast  out."  This  is  no  discouragement  to 
the  seeking  soul,  for  all  who  come  are  sure  of  being 
received  ;  but  it  is  the  highest  encouragement  for  us  to 
be  assured  that  our  salvation  is  in  no  sense  dependent 
on  our  own  strength,  because  all  who  are  willing  to  be 
his  people,  he  will  certainly  save. 

2.  The  nature  of  the  salvation  confirms  this  :  "  He 
shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins.^^  Not  only  did 
Christ  by  his  death  pay  the  penalty  due  to  them  on 
account  of  their  sins  for  all  who  believe ;  and  by  his 
righteousness  purchase  for  them  an  eternal  happiness 
of  which  they  are  personally  utterly  undeserving  ;  but 
it  was  a  principal  object  of  his  purpose,  and  is  the 
main  benefit  which  they  receive  through  him,  that  his 
people  shall  be  saved  by  the  grace  of  his  Holy  Spirit 
fi'om  their  sins  themselves,  that  is,  from  the  power  of 
their  sins,  their  sinfulness  of  nature,  tendency,  and 
habit.  Deliverance  from  punishment  is  the  least  part 
of  salvation  ;  for  salvation  is  complete  only  in  sanctifi- 
cation.  Sin  is  the  cause  of  hell,  and  our  sinfulness 
constitutes  our  danger  of  eternal  death  ;  until  our  sins 
are  taken  from  us,  or  we  are  assured  that  they  will  be, 
we  ai'e  in  danger.  But  this  is  the  work  of  Christ's 
spirit  through  Christ's  gospel.  Hence,  only  those  are 
saved  who  are  Christ's  people,  his  "  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works  ;  "  and  all  those  whom  he  came 


282  THE  NAME  OF   JESUS,  [Lect.  XIII 

certainly  to  save,  he  sanctifies  that  they  may  be  saved. 
It  is  all  of  grace.  "  We  love  him,"  says  the  Apostle, 
"  because  he  first  loved  us."  It  is  grace  to  the  end,  as 
it  is  grace  from  the  beginning.  He  ordained  his  peo- 
ple, not  because  he  foresaw  that  they  would  be  holy  of 
themselves  ;  but  because  he  purposed  that  they  should 
be  holy  by  his  power.  "  For  whom  he  did  foreknow, 
he  also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  his  Son.  .  .  .  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate, 
them  he  also  called  ;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also 
justified ;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glori- 
fied," which  is  the  height  of  sanctification.  It  is  all  of 
grace,  therefore,  all  of  Christ.  This  is  the  truth  of 
the  Gospel.  Our  Church  teaches  no  other.  They 
who  think  that  they  can  save  themselves  will  reject  it 
as  a  hard  saying ;  but  to  all  who  cling  to  Christ  as 
their  only  Saviour,  it  is  their  only  comfort  in  life  and 
death. 

Thirdly  :    The  Practical  Inferences. 

These  flow  so  easily  from  our  previous  exposition, 
and  are  so  clearly  stated  in  the  Questions  and  An- 
swers for  this  Lord's  Day,  that  they  need  only  to  be 
set  forth,  and  may  then  be  left  to  our  personal  medita- 
tions. 

I.  "  We  ought  not  to  seek,  neither  can  we  find  sal- 
vation in  any  other,"  but  Jesus. 

1.  We  ought  not  to  seek  salvation  in  any  other. 

a.  For  it  is  God  whom  we  have  offended,  God  whose 
wrath  we  deserve,  God  who  alone  can  save  us.  It 
is  not  for  us  to  dictate  how  he  shall  save  us  ;  but 
since  he  has  revealed  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  as  the 
only  way  in  which  he  is  willing  to  save  us,  and  freely 
offers  salvation  to  all  who  believe,   we  should   grate- 


Lect.  XIII.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  283 

fully,  gladly  and  at   once   believe   on  Christ  for   our 
salvation. 

h.  He  has  also  declared  that  his  highest  glory,  the 
glory  of  his  justice  and  mercy,  of  his  wisdom  and  his 
power,  is  in  saving  all  who  come  to  him  through  Jesus  ; 
and,  therefore,  should  we  most  reverently  and  devoutly 
turn  from  our  sins,  by  which  we  so  greatly  dishonor 
him,  and  offer  ourselves  to  him  through  faith  in  Christ, 
that  he  may  have  his  glory  yet  more  manifest  in  our 
salvation. 

c.  And,  when  we  contemplate  all  he  has  done  for  us 
in  the  humiliation,  obedience,  and  death  of  Christ,  with 
all  he  is  willing  to  do  for  us  on  earth  and  in  heaven  by 
the  power  and  grace  of  Christ,  how  should  his  love  con- 
strain us  to  become  the  followers  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, who  laid  down  his  life  for  us  that  he  might  lead 
us,  through  green  pastures  and  beside  still  waters,  to 
his  heavenly  fold. 

2.  But  we  cannot  find  salvation  in  any  other. 
a.  "  There  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved,"  but  the 
name  of  Jesus.  God  has  said  it ;  and  since  our  salva- 
tion can  come  only  from  God,  there  can  be  no  other. 
What  folly  for  us  to  think  of  finding  another  way  than 
that  which  the  wisdom  of  God  devised  ;  or  of  trusting 
another  way  than  that  which  his  power  has  executed  ! 

h.  If  there  could  have  been  any  other  way,  God 
would  never  have  put  his  only  begotten  Son  to  such 
humiliation,  or  that  Son  incarnate  to  such  shame  and 
sufferino-.  That  no  method  less  would  have  sufficed,  is 
shown  in  the  sorrow  and  death  of  Jesus  ;  that  there 
could  be  none  greater  is  shown  in  the  divine  merit  of 
the  vicarious  sufferer. 


284  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  [Lect.  XID. 

c.  So  far  from  there  being  any  other  way,  God  in 
many  Scriptures  denounces  a  fearful  aggravation  of 
punishment  upon  all  those  who  reject  Christ.  "  He  that 
believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because  he  hath 
not  believed  on  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God."  "  He  that  despised  Moses'  law  died  without 
mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses.  Of  how  much 
sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  thought 
worthy  who  hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God, 
and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith 
he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done 
despite  unto  the  spirit  of  grace  ?  "  O  my  hearers, 
"  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salva- 
tion ?  " 

II.  Those  do  not  believe  in  Jesus  "  who  seek  salva- 
tion and  happiness  of  saints,  of  themselves,  or  any- 
where else." 

"They  may  boast  of  him  in  words,"  —  call  them- 
selves Christians,  —  "  but  in  deeds  deny  him  to  be  the 
only  deliverer  and  Saviour.  For  one  of  these  two 
things  must  be  true  :  either  Jesus  is  not  a  complete 
Saviour,  or  they  who  by  a  true  faith  receive  this  Sa- 
viour, must  find  in  him  all  things  necessary  to  salva- 
tion." 

We  can  add  nothing  to  this  reasoning.  Jesus  saves 
his  people  from  their  sins.  If  he  cannot  do  it,  none 
can  help  him,  for  his  power  is  infinite.  If  he  under- 
takes to  do  it,  he  will  accomplish  it.  To  look  else- 
where is  to  doubt  his  power  to  save,  or  to  refuse  his 
grace.  There  is  not  a  saint  in  glory  who  does  not 
ascribe  all  his  salvation  to  Jesus  ;  and  how  can  they 
save  others  who  themselves  were  saved  ? 

If  we  be  not  lost,  utterly  lost,  we  have  no  part  in 


Lect.  XIII.]  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS.  285 

Christ,  for  he  came  to  save  only  the  lost ;  and  how  can 
a  lost  sinner  help  to  save  himself? 

No,  blessed  Jesus!  Thou  art  the  Way,  and  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life  !  No  man  can  go  unto  the  Father 
but  by  thee.  Save  us  for  thy  name's  sake,  O  blessed 
Jesus  ! 


LECTURE  XIV. 


THE  TITLE,   CHRIST. 


TWELFTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   TITLE,  CHRIST. 

Quest.  XXXI.     Why  is  he  called  CJirist,  that  is,  anointed  ? 

Ans.  Because  he  is  ordained  of  God  the  Father,  and  anointed  with  tlie 
Hol_v  Ghost  to  be  our  Chief  Prophet  and  Teacher,  who  has  fullv 
revealed  to  us  the  secret  counsel  and  will  of  God  concerning  our 
redemption;  and  to  be  our  only  High  Priest,  wlio,  by  the  one  sacrifice 
of  his  bod}',  has  redeemed  us  and  makes  continual  intercession  with 
the  Father  for  us;  and  also  to  be  our  eternal  King,  who  governs  us  by 
his  word  and  Spirit,  and  also  defends  and  preserves  us  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  that  salvation  he  hath  purchased  for  us. 

Quest.  XXXII.      Bui  u-hy  art  thou  called  a  Christian  ? 

Ans.  Because  I  am  a  member  of  Christ  by  faith,  and  thus  am  partaker  of 
his  anointing,  that  so  I  may  confess  his  name,  and  present  myself  a 
living  sacrifice  of  thankfulness  to  him;  and,  also,  that,  with  a  free  and 
good  conscience,  I  may  fight  against  sin  and  Satan  in  this  life,  and 
afterwards  reign  with  him  eternally  over  all  creatures. 

TN  our  last  lesson  we  -were  taught  the  meaning  of  that 
most  precious  word  Jesus,  the  personal  name  of  our 
divine  Redeemer,  given  him  because  he  is  the  Joshua 
of  the  new  covenant,  who  "  saves  his  people  from  their 
sins."  But  there  is  another  word  habitually  associated 
in  our  faith  and  praise  with  the  name  Jesus  ;  which,  if 
understood,  greatly  confirms  our  trust  and  excites  our 
thankfulness.  Dear  brethren,  you  anticipate  my  utter- 
ance, and  your  hearts,  burning  within  you,  know  that 
it  is  Christ. 

"  I  believe,"  says  every  true  confessor  of  our  holy 
religion,  "  in  Jesus  Christ."  The  name  Jesus,  being 
as  has  been  shown  sacredly  personal,  and  from  its  sig- 
nification, applicable  only  to  him  who  alone  can  save, 
ought  never  to  be  used  with  any  other  reference,  nor 

VOL.   I.  19 


290  THE   TITLE,   CHRIST.  [Lect.   XIV. 

should  any  epithet  be  derived  from  it ;  though  some, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  deplorable  superstition,  have  so 
abused  it,  especially  tliat  infamous  band  of  conspirators 
against  the  peace  of  the  world,  who  cloak  a  systematic 
falsehood,  opposed  to  every  rule  of  the  gospel,  by  de- 
nominating themselves  The  Society  of  Jesus  Christ, 
is  not  a  personal  name,  however,  but  a  descriptive  ap- 
pellation ;  and  all  who,  by  their  union  to  Jesus  as  their 
Head,  share  in  the  honorable  blessings  which  it  repre- 
sents, may,  whatever  was  the  first  occasion  of  the  title, 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians. 

We  are,  therefore,  now  following  the  order  of  the 
Creed  under  the  guidance  of  the  Catechism,  to  learn. 

First  :    Why  Jesus  is  called  Christ  ? 
And 

Secondly  :  Wliy  those  who  acknotvledge  Him  as  their 
Saviour  are  called  Christians  ? 

The  former  inquiry  is  met  by  the  31st  Question  and 
Answer ;  the  latter  by  the  32d. 

First  :    Why  is  Jesus  called  Christ  ? 

1.  The  word  itself  is  Greek,  and  an  adjective  derived 
from  a  verb  signifying  to  apply  oil ;  it  translates  exactly 
the  Hebrew  word  which  we  pronounce  Messiah,  and  is 
translated  by  the  Latin  unctus,  participle  of  unguo,  from 
which  we  make  unguent,  unction,  and,  through  the 
French,  ointment,  ayioint ;  so  you  perceive  that  both 
Messiah  and  Christ  mean,  as  the  Catechism  says, 
anointed. 

2.  Yet,  although,  radically,  anointment  signified  the 
application  of  oil  in  any  way,  it  came  to  have,  among 
the  Hebrews,  a  particular  and  dignified  sense  ;  because 
God  had  ordained  that  persons  designated  to  the  high 
functions  of  prophet,  priest,  or  king,  should  be  conse 


Lect.  XIV-l  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  291 

crated  or  ceremoniously  confirmed  in  their  several  offi- 
ces by  the  pouring  of  oil  on  their  heads. 

a.  Thus  the  word  of  Jehovah  was  :  "  Touch  not 
mine  anointed ;  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm  ;  "  usino- 
the  two  terms,  in  poetical  parallelism,  as  synonymous, 
and  expounding  each  other.  It  does  not  appear  from 
express  Scripture  that  prophets  generally  received  such 
external  unction,  but,  from  the  fact  of  Elijah  being 
commanded  to  anoint  Elisha  as  his  successor  in  the 
prophetical  authority,  we  may  suppose  that  in  more 
eminent  cases  the  rite  was  performed.  Certainly  it  is 
to  his  office  as  prophet,  that  the  language  of  Messiah  in 
Isaiah  Ixi.  1,  refers,  where  he  says :  "  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  glad  tidings." 

h.  As  to  priests,  the  testimony  is  explicit.  Thus,  the 
Lord,  having  directed  Moses  how  to  compound  of  olive 
oil  and  many  precious  spices  "an  holy  anointing  oil," 
said,  "  Thou  shalt  anoint  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  con- 
secrate them,  that  they  may  minister  unto  me  in  the 
priest's  office.  (Ex.  xxx.  30.)  By  comparing  this  with 
correspondent  passages  in  Ex.  xxxix.  and  Lev.  viii.,  we 
learn  that  the  anointing  oil,  mingled  with  the  blood  of 
sacrifice,  was  sprinkled  upon  the  sacerdotal  garments 
of  both  Aaron  and  his  sons,  their  right  ear,  right 
thumb,  and  right  great  toe  being  also  touched  with  it ; 
but  the  fragrant  oil,  unmingled  with  the  blood,  was 
poured  upon  the  head  of  Aaron  alone.  Hence  the 
Psalmist :  "  Behold,  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is 
for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  !  It  is  like  the 
precious  ointment  upon  the  head,  that  ran  down  upon 
the  beard,  even  Aaron's  beard  ;  that  (the  beard)  went 
down  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments."     It  has  been  sup- 


292  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST.  [Leot.  XIV. 

posed  by  some,  though  perhaps  not  correctly,  tliat,  after 
this  first  recognition  of  an  inferior  priesthood,  they 
were  not  pubhcly  anointed  ;  but  to  the  consecration  of 
a  high  priest  the  unction  was  essentiah 

c.  Samuel  anointed,  by  divine  command,  first  Saul, 
afterwards  David,  to  be  king  over  Israel ;  Zadok  the 
priest  and  Nathan  the  prophet,  anointed  Solomon ; 
Elijah  anointed  Hazael  to  be  king  over  Syria,  and  Jehu 
to  be  king  over  Israel.  So  we  may  believe  the  custom 
was  perpetuated,  at  least  until  the  confusion  wiiich  en- 
sued on  the  degeneracy  of  the  circumcised  people.  In 
Psalm  ii.  6,  Jehovah  declares :  "  Yet  have  I  set  (liter- 
ally, anointed)  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion  ;  " 
in  Isaiah  xlv.  he  calls  Cyrus  "  his  anointed,"  and  many 
other  Scriptures  show  that  the  term  was  applied  to 
those  gifted  by  the  special  revelation  or  providence  of 
God,  with  kingly  power. 

3.  The  Jews,  from  the  covenant  of  God  with  their 
father  Abraham,  and  some  older  promises,  expected 
that  at  a  divinely  appointed  time  a  great  personage 
would  appear,  under  whose  administration  their  people 
were  to  attain  the  summit  of  heavenly  favor  and  an 
unparalleled  prosperity.  That  he  would  be  a  mighty 
king  was  more  than  intimated  by  the  declaration  of  the 
dying  Jacob  concerning  Judah  :  "  The  sceptre  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his 
feet  {i.  e.  from  among  his  descendants),  until  Shiloh  (or 
The  Pacificator)  come,  and  unto  him  shall  the  gather- 
ing of  the  people  (or  the  Gentiles)  be.  That,  while  a 
priest  and  a  king,  he  was  to  be  a  prophet,  they  knew 
from  the  inspired  testimony  of  Moses :  "  The  Lord  thy 
God  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the  midst 
of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me ;  unto  him  shalt 


Lect.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  293 

tliou  hearken."    That  he  was  to  be  a  Priest,  they  natu- 
rally inferred  from  the  eminently  sacerdotal  character 
of  their  national  constitution,  and  the  unchangeable  rule 
by  which  all  approaches  to  God  and  blessings  from  him 
were  through  the  mediation  of  the  high  priest ;  which 
inference  was  fully  justified  by  David.     The  Lord  hath 
sworn  and  will  not  repent.     "  Thou  art  a  priest  forever 
after    the    order    of    Melchisedek ;  "    and    Zechariah : 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  Behold  the  man  whose 
name  is  The   Branch,  ...  he  shall  build  the  temple 
of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  bear  the  glory,  and  shall  sit 
and  rule  upon  his  throne ;  and  he  shall  be  a  priest  upon 
his  throne,  and  the  counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between 
them  both  "  (i.  e.  God  and  Israel).     These  passages, 
and  at  least  seventy  more,  were  interpreted  by  their 
most  able  doctors  (as  seen  in  Chaldee  Paraphrase)  as 
referring  to  Him  who  was  "  the  expectation  of  Israel." 
Hence,  though  we  find  the  word  retained  by  our  trans- 
lators only  in  one  chapter  of  the  Old  Testament  (9th 
of  Daniel),  they  habitually  called  this  promised  person- 
age, who  was  to  unite  in  himself  their  three  greatest 
offices,  —  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  —  the  Messiah,  or 
the  anointed.     Thus,  Andrew,  after  his  first  meeting 
Avith  Jesus,  told  Simon :   "  We  have  found  the  Messias, 
which  is,"  adds  the  Evangelist,  "  being  interpreted,  the 
Christ."      So,  also,    the    woman    of  Samaria    said   to 
Jesus :  "  I  know  that  Messias  cometh,  which  is  called 
Christ  (again  interpolates  the  Evangehst)  ;  when  he  is 
come,  he  will  tell  us  all  things ;  "  and  Simon,  when  he 
answered  his  Lord's  question  by  the  clear  acknowledg- 
ment,   "  Thou  art    the    Christ,"    must,  in   his  native 
speech,  have  said,  "  Thou  art  the  3IessiaV 

II.    Our  Lord  Jesus  is  called,  throughout  the  New 


294  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

Testament,  Christ,  for  two  reasons :  first,  because  He 
was  the  true  Messiah  of  whom  Moses  in  the  hiw  and 
all  the  prophets  did  write ;  secondly  :  "  Because  he  is 
ordained  of  God  the  Father,  and  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  be  our  Ohief  Prophet^  ....  our  only 
High  Priest^  ....  and  our  Eternal  King.^^ 

1.  That  our  Lord  Jesus  is  the  true  Messiah,  need 
not  now  to  be  further  demonstrated  than  it  is  in  the 
New  Testament ;  for  we  are  not  Jews  but  Christians, 
and  believe  the  testimony  of  the  evangelists  and  apos- 
tles who  have  shown  us  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  all  the 
signs  and  characteristics  which  the  prophets  had  fore- 
told of  Christ.  Whatever  discussion  on  this  point  may 
yet  be  necessary,  will  be  found  as  we  follow  the  Cate- 
chism in  the  answer  to  the  31st  Question. 

2.  Our  Lord  Jesus  is  Christ,  because  he  is  ordained 
of  God  the  Father  and  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  be  our  Prophet,  and  Priest,  and  King. 

A.  Ordained  of  the  Father,  anointed  with  the  Spirit, 
Himself  the  Son  of  God  incarnate.  Thus  are  the 
three  persons  of  the  ever-adorable  Godhead  united  in 
the  provision  of  a  Saviour  for  us  guilty  sinners  ;  the 
Father  ordaining,  the  Son  accepting,  the  Holy  Ghost 
anointing.  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen. 

a.  According  to  the  plan  of  redemption  in  which  the 
Son,  as  the  representative  of  servants,  takes  officially 
the  place  of  a  servant,  he  could  not  assume  the  media- 
torship  without  the  appointment,  or,  as  the  word  in  the 
Catechism  is,  ordination  of  the  Father,  who  represents 
the  majesty  of  the  Godhead.  As  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews  argues :  "  No  man  taketh  this  honor  (the 
high  priesthood)  unto  himself,  but  he  that  is  called  of 


I.ECT.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST,  295 

God,  as  was  Aaron.  So  also  Christ  glorified  not  himself 
to  be  made  an  high  priest,  but  he  that  said  unto  him, 
Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten  thee.  As  he 
saith  also  in  another  place,  Thou  art  a  priest  forever 
after  the  order  of  Melchisedek,"  —  Melchisedek,  the 
Priest  of  the  most  high  God,  and  also  king  of  Salem 
or  peace,  and  also,  we  may  add,  a  Prophet,  for  he 
blessed  Abram.  From  this  appointment  or  ordination 
of  God,  the  Saviour's  office  derived  its  validity,  and  on 
its  validity  depended  its  efficacy.  The  Emmanuel  is 
mighty  to  save,  not  merely  because  of  his  righteous- 
ness, but  because  the  Father  sent  him  to  save,  and 
covenanted  to  accept  him  as  the  surety  of  his  peo- 
ple. His  works  were  not  his  own  exclusively,  but 
the  works  which  his  Father  had  given  him  to  do  ; 
and  hence  when  he  had  accomplished  them  his  right  to 
save. 

5.  His  ordination  from  all  eternity  was  known  to  the 
Godhead,  but  it  was  necessary  that  it  should  be  con- 
firmed and  assured  to  us,  since  we  could  not  rely  upon 
him  until  we  knew  his  appointment  by  the  Father. 
Hence,  the  necessity  of  his  public  inauguration  with 
the  anoii  ting  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  the  sacred  per- 
fumed oil  typified.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  after  he 
had  reached  the  proper  age,  and  by  accepting  baptism 
from  his  forerunner  he  had  fulfilled  all  preliminary 
righteousness,  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  went  up  from  the 
water,  praying  or  asking  for  the  consecration,  in  the 
sight  of  a  vast  multitude,  the  heaven  was  opened,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  in  a  bodily  shape  like  a  dove,  de- 
scended upon  him,  and  a  voice  came  from  heaven 
which  said,  "  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son ;  in  thee  I  am 
well  pleased."      It  should  not  be  overlooked  that  the 


296  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

dove-like  glory  did  not  reascend,  but  (John  i.  33) 
remained  upon  him,  as  the  oil  on  the  prophet,  priest, 
and  king.  This  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  his 
anointing,  and,  with  the  proclamation  from  heaven, 
constituted  his  inauguration  to  the  Messiahship.  Here 
we  have  a  direct  fulfilment  of  that  afore-cited  prophecy 
which  the  ancient  Jewish  doctors  unanimously  referred 
to  the  Messiah  :  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon 
me ;  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 
good  tidings  unto  the  meek  ;  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind 
up  the  broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  cap- 
tives, and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God  ;  to  comfort  all 
that  mourn,"  etc.  (Is.  Ixi.  1  -  3.)  As  the  sacred 
anointing  oil  was  ever  accompanied  with  the  promise 
of  divine  qualifications,  and  as  its  spices  diffused  around 
the  consecrated  one  a  ravishing  perfume,  so  did  the 
Holy  Spirit  remaining  on  him  strengthen  his  human 
nature,  body  and  soul,  for  his  work,  and  render  all  his 
righteousness  a  sweet-smelling  savor  to  God,  accepta- 
ble because  the  perfect  merits  of  the  Saviour,  ordained 
of  God  the  Father. 

B.  The  office  of  the  Saviour  was  threefold,  uniting 
those  of  prophet,  priest,  and  king,  to  each  of  which 
he  was  consecrated  by  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Catechism  directs  us  to  examine  them  severally, 
that  we  may  learn  their  gracious  meaning. 

a.  He  is  "  our  Chief  Pkophet  and  Teacher,  who 
has  fully  revealed  to  us  the  secret  counsel  and  will  of 
God  concerning  our  redemption." 

The  Catechism  adds  "Teacher"  by  way  of  defini- 
tion, for,  though  people  now  understand  a  prophet  to 


Lect.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  297 

be  one  wlio  foretells,  such  was  not  the  full  sense  of  the 
term  among  the  ancients,  Hebrew  or  Greek  ;  but  they 
meant  by  it  one  Avho  declares  the  truth  of  God  to  men. 
Our  Lord  did,  indeed,  foretell  many  things,  but  he  was 
and  is  the  great  Teacher  of  his  people,  from  whom  Ave 
learn  all  that  God  would  reveal  to  us.  So  he  declares 
of  himself,  "  I  am  .  .  .  the  Truth ;  "  and  Peter  at 
the  Beautiful  Gate  says :  "  Moses  truly  said  unto  the 
fathers,  a  prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up 
unto  you  of  your  brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  him  shall  ye 
hear  in  all  things  whatsoever  he  shall  say  unto  you  ;  " 
and  when  the  Catechism  asserts  that  he  has  fully  re- 
vealed to  us  the  secret  counsel  and  will  of  God,  by 
"secret"  is  meant  the  "counsel  and  Avill "  which,  but 
for  his  teaching,  would  be  unknown. 

The  learned  Jews  found  it  necessary  for  the  under- 
standing of  the  Scriptures,  to  believe  that  God  revealed 
himself  and  uttered  his  will  by  a  personal  word  or 
voice,  and  never  immediately,  or  without  such  inter- 
vention, communicated  to  men  ;  but  their  doctrine  on 
this  point  was  painfully  obscure.  John,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  his  Gospel,  makes  the  fact  clear,  by  showing 
that  the  Word  which  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 
was  also  himself  God,  even  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
the  Father,  who,  in  the  person  of  our  Lord  Jesus, 
"  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  "  No  man 
(rather  no  one)  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  ;  the  only 
begotten  Son  Avhich  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
hath  declared  him  ;  "  that  is,  has  made  his  being  and 
will  known  to  us.  Thus  our  Lord  Jesiis,  who  is  our 
Prophet  or  Teacher,  is  none  else  than  God  the  Son, 
the  second  Person  of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity,  incarnate 
as  the  Son  of  man.     The  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  sets 


298  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

fortli  tlie  same  truth  :  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and 
in  divers  manners  spake  unto  the  flithers  by  the  proph- 
ets, hath  in  these  last  days,  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son, 
whom  lie  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  by  whom 
also  he  made  the  worlds  ;  who,  beincr  the  brio-htness," 
that  is,  the  shining  forth,  "of  his  glory,  and  the  express 
image  (or  manifest  counterpart,  as  the  impression  is  of 
a  seal),  and  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  (utter- 
ance) of  his  power,  when  he  had  by  himself  purged 
our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on 
high."  Here  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  is  identified 
with  the  Son  of  God,  who  alone  reveals  the  glory  of 
God  and  his  excellent  nature ;  and  the  Father  now  in 
the  Gospel  speaks  to  us  by  the  same  Word  by  whom 
"  the  worlds  were  made."  The  Son,  whose  divine  office 
it  ever  has  been  to  declare  the  truth  of  his  Father's 
Avill,  now  becomes  incarnate,  that  he  may  by  his  Gospel 
make  a  nearer  and  fuller  revelation  of  his  grace. 

The  Scriptures  of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ments were  written  by  men  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  in- 
spired for  the  work ;  but  as,  according  to  the  plan  of 
redemption,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  our 
Lord  Jesus  teaches  us  by  the  whole  Book  of  God.  He 
is  the  great  Prophet  who  speaks  through  all  the  projjh- 
ets  ;  he  is  the  great  Apostle  who  speaks  through  all 
the  apostles  ;  the  Prophet  of  prophets,  the  Apostle  of 
apostles.  And  as  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  illumi- 
nating and  transforming  influences,  accompanying  tlie 
various  means  of  instruction  ordained  for  us  of  God, 
make  them  effectual,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  spirit 
of  Christ ;  so  all  the  knowledge  we  gain  from  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Spirit  of  God  without,  and  the  blessing  of 
that  divine  Spirit  within  us,  is  derived  from  the  Lord 


x^LcT.  XIV.]  THE   TITLE,  CHRIST.  299 

Jesus,  our  Prophet  and  Teacher.  To  him  alone  are 
we  to  look,  from  him  alone  we  are  to  learn.  The  eter- 
nal Word  made  flesh,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  "  the 
True  Lioht  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world." 

h.  He,  who  is  "  the  Apostle,"  is  also  the  "  High 
Priest  of  our  profession."  Our  Lord  Jesus  is  "  our 
only  High  Priest,  who,  by  the  one  sacrifice  of  his 
body,  has  redeemed  us,  and  makes  continual  interces- 
sion with  the  Father  for  us."  That  our  Lord  Jesus 
has  been  ordained  and  anointed  to  be  our  High  Priest, 
is  sufficiently  established  by  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
and  other  Scriptures.  "  For  such  a  High  Priest  be- 
came us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from 
sinners,  and  made  higher  than  the  heavens." 

Like  the  typical  high  priests,  his  office  is  twofold: 
To  make  an  atonement  l3y  sacrifice  for  those  whom 
he  represents  ;  and  to  make  intercession  with  God  for 
them. 

a.  a.  In  our  study  of  several  previous  sections  of  the 
Catechism,  and  particularly  the  last,  we  learned  how 
the  Lord  Jesus  has  redeemed  his  people  from  the  curse 
of  death,  due  to  them  for  their  sins,  by  taking  their 
place  and  suffering  the  penalty  of  the  law  in  their  stead. 
This  vicarious  suffering  is  represented  as  a  sacrifice. 
The  victim  was  himself,  his  divinely  begotten  and  sin- 
less humanity,  body  and  soul ;  the  altar  was  his  own 
indwelling  divinity  which  sanctified  the  offering,  mak- 
ino-  its  merits,  of  itself  finite,  infinitely  meritorious  ; 
and  as  he  was  both  Sacrifice  and  Altar,  so  he  is  also 
the  Priest;  and,  as  none  but  the  High  Priest  could 
make  an  atoning  sacrifice,  he  is  our  only  High  Priest. 
The  typical  sacrifices   being  mere  figures,  utterly  in- 


300  THE   TITLE,   CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

sufficient,  needed  to  be  repeated ;  but  our  great  High 
Priest,  "  after  he  had  ofifered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  for- 
ever," a  sacrifice  infinitely  sufficient,  and  therefore  of 
eternal  efficacy,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God, 
from  henceforth  expecting  till  his  enemies  be  made  his 
footstool ;  his  offi^ring  accepted,  his  work  as  a  Sacrificer 
was  done,  and  he  now  waits  for  his  promised  reward  ; 
"  for  by  one  offering  he  hath  perfected  forever  them 
that  are  sanctified."  "  There  remaineth  no  more  sac- 
rifice for  sins ;  "  none  other  is  needed,  none  other  can 
be  offered ;  nor  can  that  one  sacrifice  be  repeated,  as 
the  Papists  in  their  deplorable  superstition  pretend  by 
the  Mass,  nor  need  we  nor  can  we  have  any  High 
Priest  but  he,  as  the  Papists  blasphemously  pretend  by 
calling  the  head  of  their  superstition  the  Chief  Pontiff. 
The  work  of  atonement  is  finished,  finished  for  us, 
finished  for  all  who  believe :  whereof  God  has  given 
assurance  in  raising  our  Lord  Jesus  from  the  dead,  and 
setting  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly 
places.  O  blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  hope  of 
pardon  is  alone  in  thee,  and  in  thy  death  upon  the 
cross  ! 

h.  h.  When  the  typical  high  priest  had  offered  the 
sacrifice  of  atonement  without,  he  entered  within  the 
vail,  and  there,  having  sprinkled  the  blood  of  the  vic- 
tim over  the  cover  of  the  ark  that  contained  the  broken 
law,  he  made  intercession  by  fervent  prayer  for  the 
people.  So  our  true  High  Priest,  after  finishing  his 
work  of  satisfaction,  passed  into  the  heavens  ;  and 
there,  not  for  a  little  while  but  constantly,  he  abides, 
making  intercession  for  us  ;  not  as  a  suppliant,  at  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  but  as  the  Son  of  God  seated  on 
the  throne  itself,  and  asking  of  his  willing  Father  the 


Lect.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  301 

fulfilment  of  the  covenant,  whose  condition  on  his  part 
he  had  fulfilled :  even  eternal  life  for  all  who  believe  in 
his  name.  Through  him,  therefore,  unworthy  as  we 
are  in  ourselves,  we  may  have  access  with  boldness 
"  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."  All  our  pray- 
ers must  go  up  to  the  Fatlier  through  him,  and,  as  he 
has  been  accepted  for  a  sacrifice,  his  advocacy  of  our 
cause  will  be  prevalent ;  and  the  Father  tlirough  him 
will  grant  us  pardon  and  life  eternal.  All  our  services, 
with  our  hearts,  must  be  presented  through  him,  and, 
having  washed  them  from  their  sinfulness,  he,  with  the 
perfume  of  his  anointment,  will  make  them  acceptable ; 
and  he,  receiving  the  reward  of  his  own  righteousness, 
will  bestow  in  return  for  our  poor  services  blessings 
far  more  abundant  "  than  we  can  ask  or  think."  Unto 
him  be  glory  in  the  Church  throughout  all  ages,  world 
without  end.  Amen. 

c.  He  is  "  our  eternal  King,  who  governs  us  by 
his  word  and  spirit ;  and  who  defends  and  preserves 
us  in  (the  enjoyment  of)  that  salvation  he  has  pur- 
chased." 

God,  because  he  is  the  only  Creator,  is  the  only  Sov- 
ereign of  all  creatures  intelligent  or  material,  and  any 
authority  or  control  over  them  exerted  by  any  other 
than  himself  immediately,  must  be  derived  from  his 
ordination  or  providence.  Our  blessed  Saviour,  when 
he  condescended  to  be  our  representative,  and  associated 
our  humanity  with  his  divinity,  took  a  position  necessa- 
rily inferior  to  the  Sovereign,  though,  as  to  his  original 
natui'e,  the  Second  Person  of  the  Godhead ;  and 
accordingly,  that  he  might  be  fully  qualified  to  accom- 
plish all  the  divine  purposes  of  his  mjssion,  he  received 


302  THE   TITLE,   CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

from  the  Father,  representing  tlie  Godhead,  all  author- 
ity and  power.  This  kingship  or  lordship  is  delegated  ; 
and  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  infinite  right  to 
reign  which  is  his,  coequally  witli  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  the  Second  Person  of  the  ever-blessed 
Godhead.  "  All  power  is  given  to  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,"  said  he  to  his  apostles  just  before  his  ascension  ; 
and  it  was  granted  to  him  in  acknowledgment  of  his 
perfect  I'ighteousness,  passive  and  active,  during  his 
humiliation  on  earth.  "  Let  this  inind  be  in  you,  which 
was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ;  who,  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  :  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men  :  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled 
himself  and  became  obedient  unto  (until)  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore,  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  (authority')  which 
is  above  every  name  :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father."  Here  you  see  that  this  uni- 
versal dominion  is  given  to  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God  in- 
carnate, as  a  servant,  —  to  Jesus  Christ,  or  the  anointed 
Jesus,  after  he  had  been  obedient  until  death,  and 
because  of  his  obedience,  and  the  result  will  be  "  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father."  Hence,  as  this  authority 
was  delegated  to  Jesus  as  the  Mediator,  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  distinguish  it  from  his  original  authority  as 
the  Son  of  God  by  calling  it  his  mediatorial  kingdom  ; 
by  which  we  mean  all  the  power  necessary  for  the  full 
salvation  of  those  he  has  redeemed  bv  his  righteous- 


Lkct.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  303 

ness,  and  for  the  vindication  of  the  divine  honor  in  the 
redemption  of  his  people. 

This  kingdom  has  two  parts,  as  the  Catechism 
teaches.  One,  a  kingdom  over  his  people  ;  the  other, 
a  kingdom  over  all  things  for  the  benefit  of  his  people ; 
"  He  saves  us  ;  "  "  He  defends  and  preserves  us  in 
that  salvation  he  has  purchased  for  us." 

a.  a.   His  kingdom  over  his  church. 

Thus  the  annunciatino;  ano;el  to  the  blessed  viroin  : 
"  The  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his 
father  David,  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  forever,  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no 
end."  So  also,  the  Psalmist  as  cited  in  the  Hebrews  : 
"  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchis- 
edek,  which  united  the  kingship  over  those  for  whom 
the  priestship  was  exercised,  —  Melchisedek,  which  is  by 
inter])i'etation  king  of  righteousness,  and  king  of  Salem, 
which  signifies  king  of  peace.  Our  Jesus  rules  in 
righteousness  and  peace  over  all  for  whom  his  atone- 
ment and  intercession  are  accepted.  The  same  thing 
is  declared  by  the  apostle :  "  Who  gave  himself  for  us, 
that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify 
unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  (a  people  who  are  his 
own),  zealous  of  good  works."  Redemption,  purifica- 
tion, sanctification,  are  united  in  his  care  of  his  own 
people.  "  Thine  they  were  and  thou  gavest  them  me," 
said  he  vmto  his  Father  in  his  mediatorial  prayer. 

The  method  of  his  governing  his  church  is  twofold  : 
"  He  governs  us,"  says  the  Catechism,  "  by  his  Word 
and  Spirit." 

His  people  are  a  willing  people.  The  Saviour  rules 
over  them,  not  by  force  of  mere  authority,  but  with  the 
consent  of  their  hearts  and  minds.     Hence  he  reveals 


304  THE   TITLE,   CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

his  word,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  tlie  law  and  constitu- 
tion of  his  kingdom,  the  rule  by  which  his  people  shall 
serve  him,  and  the  source  of  the  motives  from  which 
they  shall  serve  him. 

But  our  dispositions  are  naturally  opposed  to  the 
divine  will.  "  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God, 
and  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed 
can  be  ; "  consequently,  the  more  that  the  truth  is 
pressed  upon  the  unrenewed  soul,  the  greater  will  be  its 
enmity  and  its  opposition.  There  is,,  therefore,  a  neces- 
sity of  a  divine  energy  to  convert  the  soul  to  the  love 
of  God,  and  to  a  choice  of  the  service  he  requires. 
"  Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power." 
This  is  the  work  of  the  H0I3'  Ghost,  who,  because  his 
influences  are  obtained  through  the  merits  and  inter- 
cession of  Christ,  is  called  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  He, 
by  his  sovereign,  mysterious  agency  on  the  soul  and 
through  the  word,  converts  the  heart  to  love,  enlight- 
ens the  mind  to  approve,  and  inclines  the  will  to  choose 
the  word  of  God  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 
Nor  shall  this  divine  influence  ever  cease  ;  for  not  only 
will  it  bring  the  believer  gradually  to  a  perfect  sanctifi- 
cation  in  heaven,  but  there  perpetually  maintain  the 
glorified  saint  in  a  holy  happiness.  This  kingdom  of 
Christ  is  eternal.  "  He  shall  rule  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  forever." 

h.  b.  His  kinafdora  over  all  things  for  the  benefit  of 
his  people. 

Inasmuch  as  the  church  is  exposed  to  great  enmity 
from  wicked  men  and  wicked  spirits,  besides  finding 
many  obstacles  to  its  progress  and  final  triumph  from 
the  state  of  things  occasioned  by  sin,  there  is  necessity 
for    the    divine    defence    and    preservation    of    every 


Lect.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  305 

believer,  and  of  the  whole  body,  that  the  salvation  pur- 
chased be  secured.  Therefore,  all  power  is  given  to 
him  and  exerted  by  him  for  his  people.  He  is  "  Head 
over  all  things  to  his  Church."  All  power  over  earth 
is  his.  The  forces  of  nature,  the  discoveries  of  science, 
the  commercial  intercourse  of  nations,  the  wars  between 
them,  their  revolutions  and  politics,  all  are  controlled 
and  combined  in  his  hand  for  the  furtherance  of  his 
cause.  All  power  is  his  over  heaven.  As  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  he  brings  all  his  angelic  armies  to  serve  him  in 
his  mediatorship.  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits, 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of 
salvation  ?  All  power  is  his  over  hell.  For  he  has 
conquered  death,  and  him  that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is,  the  devil.  He  does  not,  indeed,  make  the  ma- 
lignant spirits  who  contend  against  us  his  willing  sub- 
jects, neither  does  he,  for  wise  reasons,  wholly  prevent 
their  wicked  activity ;  but,  as  he  showed  when  on 
earth,  even  the  devils  are  subject  to  him.  They  can  do 
nothing  without  his  permission,  and,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  end,  he  will  overrule  all  their  machinations  for  his 
glory  and  the  prosperity  of  the  Church,  and  of  every 
member  of  his  church.  It  is  in  this  that  the  apostle 
exults :  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? 
He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us 
all  things  ?  .  .  .  .  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  Christ  ?  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution, 
or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  ?  .  .  .  . 
Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors, 
through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 
nor  powers,   nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 


VOL.    I. 


20 


306  'i"HE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  This  kingdom  over  all  things 
having  been  bestowed  upon  him  for  the  specific  purpose 
of  bringing  all  his  people  triumphantly  to  glory,  is  not 
eternal ;  but,  when  that  purpose  is  accomplished,  and 
when  at  the  final  judgment  he  will  have  vindicated  the 
justice  of  God  in  the  condemnation  of  those  who  reject 
the  offers  of  mercy,  it  will  revert  to  God, — Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.  As  we  learn  from  the  apostle  :  "  Then 
Cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father  (as  the  representative 
of  the  Godhead)  ;  when  he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule 
and  all  authority  and  power.  For  he  must  reign  till 
he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy 
that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death.  For  he  hath  put  all 
things  under  his  feet.  But  when  he  saith,  all  things 
are  put  under  him,  it  is  manifest  that  he  is  excepted 
which  did  put  all  things  under  him.  And  when  all 
things  shall  be  subdued  unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son 
also  himself  be  subject  unto  him  that  put  all  things 
under  him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all ;  "  that  is,  prov- 
idence, which  for  the  church  has  been  entrusted  to  the 
Son  as  the  Mediator,  will  revert  to  the  hands  of  God, 
and  the  Son  as  Mediator  *  with  the  Church,  whose 
head  he  is  eternally,  will  be  subject  to  God,  who, 
thenceforward,  will  reign  immediately. 

Thvis  is  it  our  privilege,  beloved  Christians,  to  see  in 
Christ  all  that  is  necessary  for  his  office  as  our  Saviour. 

*  Some  think  that  by  the  Son  here  is  intended  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  (Thomas  Aquinas  in  Epistolas)  for  which  compare  Heb.  i.  1,  Ps.  viii. 
5,  6,  Heb.  ii.  5-9.  I  prefer  the  interpretation  given.  The  church,  ever 
existing,  will  exist  in  its  head;  the  humanity  will  ever  be  conjoined  to  the 
divinity,  llencn  the  person  of  Christ  is  ''subject  unto  him  that  put  all 
things  under  him." 


Lect.  XlV.i  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  307 

What  he  promises  he  obtains ;  what  he  obtains  he 
secures  for  all  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  The 
covenant  of  our  redemption  is  made,  not  between  us 
and  the  Father  ;  but  between  the  Father  and  Son  in- 
carnate as  our  Mediator  with  the  Father.  The  hope 
of  the  true  believer,  therefore,  cannot  fail ;  for  it  is 
established  on  the  truth,  the  merits  and  the  power  of 
him  whom  the  Father  has,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  anointed 
to  be  our  Prophet,  our  Priest,  and  our  King. 

Secondly  :  WJty  are  tliose  ivho  acknowledge  Jesus  as 
their  Saviour  called  Christians  ? 

We  have  no  mention  of  the  word  Christian  until  we 
come  to  Acts  xi.  26,  where  the  historian  says  that  about 
the  time  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  spent  a  whole  year 
Avith  the  Church  and  taught  much  people  at  Antioch, 
the  disciples  were  there  first  called  Christians.  Many 
contend  that  this  name  was  given  them  by  divine  reve- 
lation or  apostolic  authority  ;  but  if  that  had  been  the 
case  it  would  in  all  probability  have  been  so  recorded  ; 
and  the  more  reasonable  opinion  seems  to  be  that,  owing 
to  the  remarkable  success  attending  the  labors  of  Paul 
and  Silas,  the  disciples  increased  to  such  a  considerable 
sect  as  to  require  a  particular  designation.  Christian 
may  have  been  the  name  pitched  upon  by  the  unbeliev- 
ing out  of  derision,  and,  no  doubt,  it  was  used  in  con- 
tempt ;  but  it  is  certain  that  it  was  a  very  natural 
appellation,  as  all  people  are  used  to  call  the  followers 
of  an  eminent  teacher  by  his  name,  as  Socratics,  Cal- 
vinists,  Wesleyans.  The  name,  however,  soon  came 
to  be  applied  and  understood  generally,  as  "  Agrippa 
said  unto  Paul,  almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a 
Christian  ;  "  and  it  received  apostolical  sanction,  as  it  is 
used  by  Peter  in  his  first  epistle,  iv.  16. 


308  THE  TITLE,   CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

The  Catecliism  takes  occasion  from  its  etymology, 
and  very  properly,  to  describe  under  it  the  privileges 
and  distinguishing  characteristics  of  all  who  are  truly 
called  after  Christ. 

The  doctrine  of  the  whole  New  Testament  is,  that 
believers  are  I'epresented  or  covered  by  Christ ;  that 
the  history  of  Christ's  personal  body  is  a  parable  of  the 
Church,  which  is  his  spiritual  body ;  and  that  all  our 
blessings  having  been  primarily  conferred  on  our  Head 
reach  us  through  him,  as  all  our  services  must  be  ren- 
dered unto  God  through  his  mediation. 

I.  Hence  our  Catechism  makes  the  believer  say  :  "  I 
am  a  member  of  Christ  by  faith,  and  thus  am  partaker 
of  his  anointing."  Belief  in  Christ  is  evidence  of 
union  to  him  and  of  participation  with  him  ;  for,  as  the 
oil  upon  the  head  of  Aaron  ran  down  to  the  skirts  of 
his  garments,  so  does  the  anointing  of  Christ  flow  over 
his  whole  body,  even  to  the  most  humble  believer.  We 
have  seen  that  the  anointing  oil  represented  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which,  for  the  assistance  of  our  faith,  came  down 
visibly  upon  the  head  of  Christ  after  he  had  passed 
through  baptism  to  John  and  abode  upon  him  ;  so  not 
less  truly,  though  invisibly,  is  every  believer  sanctified 
unto  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  Christ's  Spirit, 
and  reaches  his  people  through  his  infinitely  meritori- 
ous mediation.  Not  only  are  they  regenerated,  or  born 
again  of  the  Spirit,  but  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells  in  them 
as  an  animating,  enlightening,  strengthening,  elevating 
principle,  maintaining  their  union  to  Christ,  even  as 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  consecrated,  moved,  in- 
structed, upheld  and  maintained  his  humanity,  until  his 
work  would  be  accomplished. 

II.  But  as  Christ  Jesus  was  anointed  to  the  several 


Lect.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST.  309 

offices  necessary  for  his  work  of  redemption,  so  the 
effects  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  each  anointed  believer 
must  in  some  proper  measure  correspond  to  those 
offices. 

1.  Christ  is  our  anointed  Prophet,  the  great  Pub- 
lisher of  truth:  so  "  all  the  Lord's  people  are  prophets," 
for  "  the  Lord  hath  put  his  spirit  upon  them."  (See 
Numbers  xi.  29.)  This  imitation  of  Christ  in  his  pro- 
phetical office  is  condensed  here  into  confession  of  Ms 
name.  Every  believer  who  openly  professes  to  be  a 
Christian,  gives  his  testimony  from  conviction  and  ex- 
perience that  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is,  indeed,  the  truth 
of  God  unto  salvation  ;  then  he  adds  to  it  the  confirma- 
tion of  a  godly  example,  and  according  to  the  measure 
he  has  of  Christ's  spirit,  will  he  strive  to  send  the 
Gospel  as  Christ  sends  to  all  men  in  all  the  world. 
This  last  prophetical  duty  of  the  believer  is  eminently 
characteristic  of  a  Christian  life,  and  those  who  regard 
the  missions  of  Christianity  with  indifference,  or  assist 
them  reluctantly,  may  well  doubt  if  they  have  Christ's 
spirit,  for  they  neither  obey  his  commands,  nor  follow 
his  example.  In  a  word,  the  life  of  a  Christian  is,  by 
the  same  Spirit  which  saves  him,  consecrated  to  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  throughout  the  world. 

2.  Christ  is  our  Priest,  through  whose  atonement 
and  mediation  all  the  services  of  the  Church  are  to  be 
acceptably  offered  ;  for,  many  as  were  the  religious  ser- 
vices of  both  inferior  priests  and  people  under  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation,  they  all  derived  their  value  from  the 
expiatory  sacrifice  and  intercessory  prayers  of  the  High 
Priest.  So,  as  Christ  by  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  him- 
self unto  God,  the  believer  by  the  same  Spirit  offers  his 
whole  life.     The  work  of  atonement  and  mediation  is 


310  THE  TITLE,  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XIV. 

peculiar  to  Christ,  but,  through  his  purifying  and  pre- 
vailing merits,  the  believer  presents  himself  a  living 
sacrifice  of  thankfulness  to  God.  His  whole  life,  all 
his  faculties,  all  his  influence,  all  he  has  and  all  he  is, 
are  a  thank  offering  for  the  blessings  of  salvation. 
Hence  the  true  Israel  are  called  by  the  prophet  "  a 
nation  of  priests  ; "  and  the  Apostle  Peter  unites  with 
the  Apostle  Paul  in  designating  the  Church  as  an  holy 
priesthood  to  oflFer  up  spiritual  sacrifices  (sacrifices  dic- 
tated by  heart  and  mind),  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus 
Christ.  Thus,  as  priests  as  well  as  prophets,  our  whole 
streno;th  belongs  to  God  bv  the  consecration  of  the 
same  spirit  which  makes  us  members  of  Christ. 

3.  Christ  is  our  King ;  therefore,  as  his  subjects,  his 
willing  people,  are  we  to  obey  him  wholly,  making  his 
word  our  rule  of  Christian  conduct,  and  following  the 
monitions  of  his  Spirit  in  all  things.  But  as  we  are 
subject  to  sinful  temptations  from  within,  and  from  the 
world,  and  from  the  devil,  who  makes  use  of  both  our 
evil  nature  and  the  world  to  seduce  and  intimidate  us,  we 
are  animated  by  the  consciousness  of  our  acceptance  with 
God  in  Christ,  resolutely,  heartily  and  courageously  to 
contend  against  sin  and  Satan  in  this  life,  trusting  in  the 
power  of  Christ  to  conquer  our  enemies,  and  in  the  grace 
of  his  Spirit  to  conquer  ourselves.  Nay,  we  are  to  regard 
ourselves,  each  one  of  us,  as  soldiers  of  that  sacramen- 
tal army,  the  Church  militant,  which,  by  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  his  word,  is  to  subdue  this  revolted,  angry 
world,  in  spite  of  its  oppositions  and  persecutions,  its 
wrath,  its  power,  and  its  ostentations.  We  follow  a 
conquering  King  through  battle  and  fatigue  and  suffer- 
ing, but  if  we  be  faithful  unto  death,  we  shall  share 
his  certain,  inevitable,  and  glorious  triumph.     "  Unto 


Lect.  XIV.]  THE  TITLE,  CHEIST.  311 

him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  sit  down  with  me 
upon  my  throne,  even  as  I  have  overcome  and  am  sat 
down  with  my  Father  on  his  throne."  Whatever 
honors  preeminent  he  enjoys  eternally,  whatever  king- 
dom he  shall  rule  forever,  his  faithful  ones  shall  share 
with  him  immortally  ;  for  he  who  hath  made  them 
priests,  has  by  the  same  word  and  spirit  made  them 
kings  unto  God  and  his  Christ.  His  prophetical  office 
shall  cease,  and  theirs  with  his,  for  all  prophecies  shall 
fail  when  divine  knowledge  is  perfect ;  but  his  priestly 
office,  and  theirs  in  rendering  worship  and  praise,  his 
kingly  office,  and  theirs  in  the  power  of  the  Father,  are 
eternal.  He  the  Melchisedek,  king  of  Salem,  king  of 
righteousness.  Priest  of  the  most  high  God  ;  and  they 
a  royal  priesthood.  O  Christ  our  prophet,  O  Christ 
our  priest,  O  Christ  our  King,  Lord  Jesus  Christ  our 
only  Saviour,  behold  us  at  thy  feet,  that  we  may  catch 
the  drops  descending  from  thine  anointment,  and  so  walk 
worthy  of  the  holy  name  of  Christian,  wherewith  we 
are  called !     Amen. 


f 


LECTURE  XV. 


THE  SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST. 


THIRTEENTH    LORD'S    DAY. 

THE   SONSHIP   AND   GOVERNMENT   OF 
CHRIST. 

Quest.    XXXIII.       Why  is  Christ  called  the  only  begotten  Son  of   God, 

since  we  are  also  the  children  of  God'? 
Ans.     Because  Christ  alone  is  the  eternal  and  natural  Son  of  God ;  but  we 

are  children  adopted  of  God,  by  grace,  for  his  sake. 
Quest.  XXXIV.      Wherefore  callest  thou  him  our  Lord? 
Ans.     Because  he  hath  redeemed  us,  both  soul  and  body,  from  all  our  sins, 

not  with  gold  or  silver,  but  with  his  precious  blood,  and  hath  delivered 

U3  from  all  the  power  of  the  devil,  and  thus  hath  made  us  his  own 

property. 

TN  our  study  of  the  section  for  the  Eleventh  Lord's 
-*■  Day,  it  was  our  delightful  privilege  to  meditate  on 
the  fragrant  name  of  Jesus,  and  in  that  for  the  Twelfth 
we  learned  the  meaning  of  Christ,  his  title  of  consecra- 
tion as  our  Mediator  with  God,  the  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King  of  his  people.  There  yet  remain  two  other 
appellations  by  which  the  Catholic  Church  recognizes 
him  as  worthy  of  our  divine  homage  and  entire  obedi- 
ence ;  the  first  descriptive  of  his  essential  divinity,  the 
other  of  his  supreme  authority :  "  The  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,"  "  our  Lord."  "  I  believe  in  God  the 
Father  Almighty,  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten 
Son^  our  Lord  J'"' 

There  is,  therefore,  no  need  of  further  preface  to  our 
use  of  the  lesson  before  us,  which,  as  we  see  at  once, 
teaches  us, 

First  :  The  reason  why  Christ  is  called.  The  only 
begotten  Son  of  God. 

Thirty-third  Question  and  Answer. 


316       SONSHIP  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.    [Lect.  XV. 

Secondly  :   The  reason  why  we  call  him  our  Lord. 

Thirty-fourth  Question  and  Answer. 

First  :  The  reason  why  Christ  is  called  the  only  he- 
gotten  Son  of  God. 

"  Why,"  asks  the  Catecliism,  "  is  Christ  called  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  since  we  are  also  the  chil- 
dren of  God  ?  "  "  Because,"  we  are  instructed  to 
answer,  "  Christ  alone  is  the  eternal  and  natural  Son 
of  God,  but  we  are  children  adopted  of  God  by  grace 
for  Christ's  sake." 

I.  Sonship  to  God  is,  by  the  Scriptures,  ascribed  to 
other  persons  besides  Jesus  Christ,  viz :  The  holy  an- 
gels^ of  whom  we  read,  "  All  the  sons  of  God  shouted 
for  joy ;  "  men  generally,  for  the  Evangelist  Luke,  in 
his  genealogy  of  the  Saviour,  traces  it  back  to  "  Adam, 
which  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  "  we  are  all  of  us  com- 
manded to  pray,  saying,  "  Our  Father  which  art  in 
heaven,"  and  the  Apostle  Paul  strongly  approves  the 
declaration  of  a  Greek  poet,  that  men  are  the  offspring 
of  God  ;  worshippers  of  God,  when  distinguished  from 
those  who  do  not  worship  him,  as  the  sacred  historian 
tells  us  that  "  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of 
men  ;  "  the  children  of  Israel,  after  they  had  been  sol- 
emnly covenanted  with  God  :  "  Ye  are,"  said  Moses  to 
them  by  divine  command,  "  the  children  of  the  Lord 
your  God  ;  "  magistrates,  who  are  the  ministers  of 
God,  in  a  certain  sense,  before  the  people,  as  the 
Psalmist  to  the  judges  :  "  I  have  said.  Ye  are  gods 
(i.  e.  high  persons),  and  all  of  you  are  children  of  the 
Most  High  ; "  and,  especially,  believers  in  Christ,  who, 
for  Christ's  sake,  and  being  renewed  by  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  are  owned  as  the  "  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  Lord  Almighty,"  having  "  received  the  spirit  of 


Lect.  XV.]     SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.      317 

adoption."  Our  Lord  is  distinguished  infinitely  above 
these  by  the  character  of  his  fihation,  or  sonship.  An- 
gels and  men  are  called  sons  of  God,  simply  because 
he  has  given  them  their  being  ;  worshippers  of  God, 
because  they  acknowledge  his  paternal  rule  and  care  ; 
the  covenanted  Israelites,  because  he  took  them  under 
his  special  guardianship  ;  magistrates,  because  they  rep- 
resent his  authority ;  and  Christians,  because  he  adopts 
them  into  his  family  through  their  union  to  Christ :  the 
term  in  all  these  cases  being  used  figuratively  and  im- 
plying no  essential  relationship  to  God.  But  our  Lord 
is  styled  :  the  Son  of  God  ;  his  oivn  Son ;  his  only  he- 
gotten  Son  ;  which  expressions  imply  that  he  is  the  Son 
of  God  in  an  excellent,  peculiar,  natural,  and  there- 
fore an  eternal  relation. 

1.  The  Son  of  God.  No  one  can  read  the  New 
Testament,  the  epistles  as  well  as  the  historical  books, 
without  seeing  that  this  title  as  applied  to  our  Saviour 
has  a  very  eminent  signification,  and  can  by  no  means 
be  confounded  with  the  figurative  sonship  of  angels  or 
men.  Belief  in  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God,  is  compre- 
hensive of  all  Christian  faith.  Thus  the  Evangelist 
John  gives  the  testimony  of  John  the  Forerunner: 
"  I  saw  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God." 
"  He  saith  unto  them :  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ? 
And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said.  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  And  Jesus  an- 
swered and  said  unto  him  :  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
Bar-Jona,  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  "  Whatso- 
ever is  born  of  God  overcometh  the  world,  and  this  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith. 
'Wh6  is  he  that  overcometh   the   world,  but  he  that 


318      SONSHIP  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     [Lect.  XV. 

believeth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  ? " 
Now,  surely,  these  expressions  cannot  mean  that  Christ 
was  the  Son  of  God  in  any  such  sense  as  Adam  was  or 
any  Christian  is.  What  need  of  the  Baptist's  solemn 
assurance  for  this  ?  Did  such  a  conviction  require  a 
special  revelation  ?  or  could  a  faith  that  went  no  farther 
overcome  the  world  by  its  inspiring  virtue  ?  It  is  true 
that  the  Son  of  God  is  a  scriptural  title  of  Messiah 
recognized  by  the  Jews  themselves  :  yet  that  it  was  not 
a  mere  synonym  for  Messiah,  but  meant  more,  is  clear 
from  the  fact  that  the  two  terms  are  used  together.  No 
one  could  be  the  Messiah  but  the  Son  of  God ;  and 
because  he  was  the  Son  of  God  he  was  the  Messiah. 
The  Jews  condemned  him  as  a  blasphemer,  not  because 
he  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  which,  if  the  claim  were 
false,  would  not  have  been  blasphemy,  but  because  as 
the  Messiah  he  avowed  himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God. 
"  Jesus  answered  them  and  said  :  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and  I  work.  Therefore  the  Jews  sought  the 
more  to  kill  him,  because  he  not  only  had  broken  the 
Sabbath,  but  said,  also,  that  God  was  his  Father,  mak- 
ing himself  equal  with  God."  So,  at  his  trial  before  the 
Sanhedrim,  "  the  high  priest  said  unto  him :  I  adjure 
thee  by  the  living  God  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou 
art  the  Christ  the  Son  of  the  living  God  ?  Jesus  saith 
to  him.  Thou  hast  said  (or,  I  am,  see  Mark  xiv.  62.) 
....  Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes,  saying. 
He  hath  spoken  blasphemy  !  What  further  need  have 
we  of  witnesses  ?  "  For  this  reason  the  Jews,  after 
Pilate  had  acquitted  him,  insisted  on  his  crucifixion,  for 
said  they  :  "  We  have  a  law,  and  by  our  law  he  ought 
to  die,  because  he  made  himself  the  Son  of  God." 
They  were  right  in  their  understanding  of  our  Lord's 


Lect.XV.]    SONSHIP  and   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.       319 

assertion   of   his   sonship  to   God,  for,  if  he  were  not 
actually  the  Son  of  God,  he  had  blasphemed. 

2.  But  that  all  cavil  might  be  rebuked,  the  Scripture 
is  if  possible  more  explicit.  Thus  the  Apostle  twice  in 
one  chapter,  (eighth  of  Romans,)  calls  our  Lord,  God's 
own  Son :  "  God,  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness 
of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh  ;  " 
and  again  :  "  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son  but  de- 
livered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him 
also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  "  Here,  the  force  of 
the  reasoning  depends  wholly  upon  the  peculiar  son- 
ship  of  Christ  to  God.  For  no  such  inference  could  be 
made  if  Christ  who  had  been  given  were  the  Son  of  God 
only  in  a  figurative  or  official  manner.  It  is  the  love 
of  the  Father  for  his  own  Son  which  proves  his  great, 
his  unspeakable  love  to  us,  in  sending  that  Son  under 
the  likeness  of  our  sinful  humanity  for  our  redemption ; 
nor  can  we,  without  great  violence  against  the  obvious 
meaning  of  words,  understand  by  the  phrase  "  his  own," 
otherwise  than  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  in  the 
fullest  sense  in  which  one  can  be  the  son  of  his 
father. 

3.  Does  any  objector  yet  hesitate,  and  suggest  that 
"  his  own  "  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  term  of  en- 
dearment or  approbation  ?  There  is  yet  another  ex- 
pression repeatedly  employed  for  the  very  purpose  of 
declaring  that  the  sonship  is  natural,  by  which  we 
mean  that  he  is  essentially  of  the  same  nature  of  his 
Father :  "  God  .  .  .  sent  his  only  begotten  Son."  As, 
in  all  cases,  the  son  is  of  the  same  nature  with  his 
begetter,  so  is  the  begotten  of  God  of  the  same  essence 
as  his  divine  Father.  God  calls  his  intelligent  crea- 
tures, who,  as  to  some  qualities,  resemble  him  finitely, 


320      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.    [Lect.  XV, 

his  children,  but  Christ  he  calls  his  only  begotten,  his 
only  Son  in  his  own  nature.  It  is  impossible  that  the 
force  of  language  can  go  farther.  This  is  the  reason- 
ing in  the  first  chapter  of  Hebrews.  The  writer  is 
establishing  the  infinite  superiority  of  Christ  to  all 
those  by  whom  God  had  made  any  previous  revelation 
of  his  word  ;  and,  beginning  with  the  angels,  he  asserts 
that  Christ  hath  by  inheritance,  or  by  his  sonship,  ob- 
tained a  more  excellent  name  or  dignity  than  they.  As 
a  son  derives  his  nobility  from  his  descent,  so  Christ  is 
divine  in  virtue  of  his  sonship  to  God.  "  For,"  asks 
he  "  unto  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any  time : 
'  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day,  have  I  begotten  thee  ? '  " 
"  this  day,"  meaning  after  the  Hebrew  idiom,  "  in  eter- 
nity." Again,  "  unto  the  Son  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O 
God,  is  forever  and  ever."  God  himself  interprets 
the  meaning  of  his  own  language,  and  styles  his  begot- 
ten Son,  God,  as  truly  God  as  himself.  How  could 
God  himself  be  more  explicit  in  asserting  the  divinity 
of  Christ  ?  Yet  even  against  this  direct  testimony  from 
the  highest  of  all  witnesses,  the  sceptic  struggles,  and 
would  have  us  believe  that  the  begetting  refers  to 
Christ's  miraculous  conception  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It 
is  true  that  the  human  nature  of  Christ  was,  as  it  were, 
begotten  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  he  only  has  been 
so  begotten  ;  but  was  it  to  a  man,  though  divinely  con- 
ceived, that  the  Father  Almighty  said :  "  Thy  throne, 
O  God,  is  forever  and  ever  ?  "  Nay,  is  it  not  clear 
that  Christ  was  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God  before 
his  incarnation  ?  For  the  Father  sent  his  only  begot- 
ten Son  into  the  world.  Christ  must,  therefore,  have 
existed  before  he  was  sent ;  and  existed  as  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.     Again,  in  the  first  chapter  of 


Lect.  XV.]   SONSHIP  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.      321 

the  Hebrews,  it  is  asserted,  that  God  made  the  worlds 
by  the  Son  whom  he,  a  little  farther  on,  declares  to  be 
his  begotten  ;  and  the  Evangelist  John,  in  the  preface 
to  his  Gospel,  clearly  identifies  the  Word  which  was  "  in 
the  beginning  with  God,"  and  which  "  was  God,"  and 
by  whom  "  all  things  were  made,"  with  him  who  "  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us  ;  "  whose  glory  his  dis- 
ciples beheld,  "  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father."  So,  also,  the  Saviour  in  his  prayer  before 
his  passion,  says  :  "  Now,  O  Father,  glorify  thou  me 
with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with 
thee  before  the  world  was."  Proofs  of  Christ's  preex- 
istence  might  be  multiplied  ;  but  these  are  enough  to 
show  that  the  title,  "  only  begotten,"  was  his,  indepen- 
dently  of  his  incarnation,  and  antecedently  to  it.  But 
in  what  state  did  he  preexist  ?  Certainly  not  as  man, 
for  he  became  man  by  his  birth  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
("  blessed  was  she  among  women  !  ")  :  not  as  an  angel, 
for  it  is  proved  that  "  he  had  by  inheritance  a  more 
excellent  name  than  they."  What  else  could  the  only 
begotten  of  God  be  but  God  ?  Not  merely  divine,  but 
truly,  essentially  God :  as  truly  and  essentially  of  the 
same  nature  as  God  the  Father,  as  the  son  of  a  man  is 
as  truly  and  essentially  a  man.  Not  God  in  some  lower 
sense  than  the  Father,  for  it  is  only  in  his  minority  that 
a  son  is  less  than  his  father ;  and  as  Deity  is  infinite, 
the  Son  of  God  must,  like  God  the  Father,  be  infinite ; 
and,  therefore,  they  are  equal.  Is  this  reasoning  too 
bold  ?  It  is  exactly  what  the  Apostle  asserts  in  so 
many  words  :  "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which 
was  also  in  Christ  Jesus,  who,  being  in  the  form 
(the  mode  of  existence)  of  God,  thought  it  not  rob- 
bery to  be  equal  witli  God,  but  made  himself  of  no 

VOL.  I.  21 


822     SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     [Lect.  XV 

reputation,  and  took  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant.'' 
How  could  he  be  God,  and  not  equal  with  God ;  if 
equal  with  God,  infinite ;  if  infinite,  equal  with  the 
Father  ?  The  begotten  is  of  the  same  nature  as  the 
begetter,  the  Son  of  God  as  God  the  Father  ;  therefore 
does  the  Church  adore  with  equal  praises  the  divine 
Father,  and  the  divine  Son  ;  the  First,  and  Second 
Persons  of  the  holy  Trinity  ;  who,  with  the  third  Per- 
son, the  Holy  Ghost,  constitute  the  one  God  in  whom 
we  believe. 

We  must,  however,  be  careful  to  remember  that  the 
Scripture,  in  speaking  of  God  and  of  the  relations 
between  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead,  uses  language 
framed  for  men,  and  to  express  their  relations  ;  nor  is 
it  possible  in  such  language  to  make  known  the  infinite 
truths  of  God's  own  being.  Hence,  the  terms  Father, 
Son,  begetting,  or  generation  (which  is  the  Latin 
synonym),  are  to  be  understood  in  a  sense  as  distinct 
from  that  which  they  bear  when  applied  to  men,  as  the 
divine  nature  is  infinitely  above  the  human,  and  it  may 
be  true  that  theologians  have  speculated  by  inferences 
from  these  terms  to  an  unwarranted  degree  :  but  we 
are  certain  from  correlative  Scripture  that  they  imply 
a  real,  natural,  essential,  though,  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  by  us  incomprehensible,  relation  between  the 
first  and  second  Persons  of  the  Godhead  ;  Avhich  im- 
plies their  equal  divinity.  Hence,  also,  we  must  believe 
that,  as  the  nature  of  God  is  unchangeable,  the  relation 
between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  though  clearly  re- 
vealed (as  to  its  fact)  only  in  connection  with  the 
Gospel,  must  have  existed  from  all  eternity.  The 
Father  did  not  cause  the  Son  to  be ;  the  Son  did  not 
in   his  being  follow  the  Father,,  but,  whatever  is  thu 


Lect.  XV.]     SONSHIP  AND   GOVERNMENT   OF  CHRIST.     323 

ineffable  relation  which  those  words  imply,  it  has  been 
and  will  be  coeternal  with  the  existence  of  God. 

The  scope  of  the  lesson  for  to-day  is  so  great,  that 
we  have  no  opportunity  to  enter  upon  other  corrobora- 
tory arguments  for  our  Lord's  divinity,  nor  even  to  draw 
out  the  many  practical  deductions  from  the  matter  to 
which  we  have  confined  ourselves  ;  but  we  trust  in  the 
Christian  judgment  of  those  who  have  followed  us  as 
we  reasoned  out  of  the  Scriptures,  so  far  as  to  believe 
that  they  will  agree  with  the  orthodox  of  all  ages  in 
the  truth  of  Christ's  natural  and  eternal  sonship  to 
God  :  to  deny  which  is  to  deny  his  divinity,  and  to  take 
all  value  from  his  atoning  mediation. 

Secondi,y  :  Tlie  reason  ivhy  toe  call  Jesus  Christ  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  Grod,  our  Lord. 

"  Because,"  says  the  Catechism,  "  he  hath  redeemed 
us,  both  soul  and  body,  from  all  our  sins,  not  with  gold 
or  silver,  but  with  his  precious  blood,  and  hath  deliv- 
ered us  from  all  the  power  of  the  devil,  and  thus  hath 
made  us  his  own  property." 

The  true  and  essential  divinity  of  Christ  being  estab- 
lished by  his  sonship  to  God  the  Father,  his  divine 
authority  over  us  follows  as  a  necessary  consequence  ; 
for  he  hath  himself  said  :  "  that  all  men  should  honor 
the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father.  He  "that  hon- 
oreth  not  the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father  which  hath 
sent  him."  God  is  our  Almighty,  all-wise,  infinitely 
holy  Creator.  Our  being,  with  all  its  faculties,  physical 
and  spiritual,  has  come  from  him,  from  whom  have 
come  all  things.  We,  therefore,  belong  to  him,  body, 
soul,  and  spirit,  —  all  that  we  are,  all  that  we  have,  all 
that  we  can  do ;  and  he  has  the  sole  right,  as  he  alone 
has  the  competent  knowledge,  to  command  and  direct 


324      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     [Lect.  XV. 

US  in  the  way  in  whicli  we  may  fulfil  the  end  of  our 
creation,  which  is  his  own  glory.  It  is  both  wicked- 
ness and  folly  not  to  acknowledge  and  obey  God  as  our 
rightful  owner  and  master.  Hence  the  uncommuni- 
cable  name  of  the  true  God,  which  distinguished  him 
throughout  the  Old  Testament  from  all  the  false  gods 
of  the  heathen,  was  Jehovah,  used  in  the  sense  of  Su- 
preme, which  our  translators  render  by  LORD,  printed 
in  capital  letters.  Thus  the  Psalmist ;  "  For  the  Lord 
(or  Jehovah)  is  great  and  greatly  to  be  praised ;  he  is 
to  be  feared  above  all  gods.  For  all  the  gods  of  the 
nations  are  idols ;  but  the  Lord  (Jehovah)  made  the 
heavens."  The  term  lord,  signifying  one  having  right 
and  power  to  rule,  is,  however,  applied  to  human  sov- 
ereigns, dignitaries,  and  masters,  who  exercise  dominion 
over  their  fellow-men.  Hence,  God  the  Creator  re- 
ceives homage  and  glory  from  the  Scriptures,  as  infin- 
itely supreme  over  all  such  forms  of  authority  as  may 
be  claimed  for,  or  by  him  delegated  to  any  of  his  intel- 
ligent creatures  ;  and  Christ,  as  the  Son  of  God,  the 
second  person  of  the  adorable  Godhead,  is  by  virtue 
of  his  original,  essential  divinity,  entitled  to  our  hom- 
age and  obedience  as  our  Lord,  and  Lord  of  all. 

But  there  is  a  peculiar  and  evangelical  sense  in  which 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  incarnate  as  Christ  Je- 
sus, the  anointed  Saviour,  has  become  our  Lord,  —  the 
Lord  of  all  Christians,  —  to  which  the  apostle  refers 
when  he  says  :  "  We  know  that  an  idol  is  nothing  in 
the  world,  and  that  there  is  none  other  God  but  one. 
For  though  there  be  that  are  called  gods,  whether  in 
heaven  or  in  earth  (as  there  be  gods  many  and  lords 
many),  but  to  us  there  is  but  one  God  the  Father,  of 
•vhom  are  all   things  and  we  in  him ;   and  one  Lord 


Lect.  XV.]     SONSHIP  AND   GOVERNMENT   OF   CHRIST.      o25 

Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by  him." 
This  is  the  Lordship  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  the  Cate- 
chism here  speaks,  and  concerning  which  it  is  now  our 
duty  especially  to  inquire  ;  although  it  is  included  in 
Christ's  office  of  king,  already  considered  by  us  when 
expounding  his  name,  Christ. 

I.  The  source  of  Christ's  Lordship. 

It  is  not  original  but  derived.  As  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,  he  had  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  the  supreme  authority  as  creator,  preserver, 
and  administrator  of  all  things  ;  but  when,  in  execut- 
ing the  plan  of  redemption,  he  became  the  representa- 
tive and  took  the  place  of  his  people,  he  "  was  made  in 
the  likeness  of  men,"  and  so  "  took  upon  him  the  form  " 
and  condition  "  of  a  servant."  Li  so  doing,  therefore, 
he,  so  far  as  he  was  incarnate,  laid  aside  his  glory :  he 
appeared  as  man,  as  a  servant ;  and  as  a  man,  and  by 
assumption  of  human  nature,  he  was  voluntarily  but 
truly  a  servant.  Now  the  stress  of  all  evangelical,  as 
well  as  antecedent,  scripture  shows  that  upon  him  as 
the  Son  of  God  incarnate,  as  the  representative  of  men, 
the  Father,  representing  the  Godhead,  conferred  a  dele- 
gated lordship,  equal  in  all  respects  to  that  which  God 
exercises,  within  the  limits  and  for  the  purpose  desig- 
nated by  the  plan  of  redemption.  Thus  says  the 
Psalmist,  speaking  for  God  :  "  I  have  set  my  King  on 
my  holy  hill  of  Zion  ;  "  that  is,  in  the  church.  Again, 
the  angel  in  the  annunciation  :  "  Behold,  thou  shalt 
conceive  in  thy  womb  and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt 
call  his  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall 
give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David.  And  he 
shall  reio;n  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever  ;  and  of  his 


326      SONSHIP  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.    [Lect.  XV 

kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  Again,  in  commission- 
ing his  disciples,  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them,  say- 
ing, "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth."  Again,  in  Philippians  :  "  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and 
things  under  the  earth ;  and  that  every  tongue  should 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father."  These  are,  as  you  know,  but  a  few  of 
the  passages  in  which  Lordship  supreme  is  conferred 
upon  Jesus  the  Emmanuel  who  was  born  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  crucified  under  Pontius  Pilate,  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  of  God. 

II.   The  object  of  this  Lordship. 

It  is  twofold  :  1,  His  people,  or  church,  comprising 
all  who  believe  on  his  name  ;  2,  All  things  for  the  sake 
of  his  people. 

1.  His  people.  The  right  of  God  in  them  and  over 
them  is  delegated  to  Jesus  Christ.  "  He  shall  reign 
over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever."  Again,  saith  he  in 
his  mediatorial  prayer :  "  I  have  manifested  thy  name 
unto  the  men  which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world  ; 
thine  they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me ;  and  they 
have  kept  thy  word  :  "  and  many  other  passages  of  the 
same  import. 

2.  We  have  already  cited  proofs  that  his  power  is 
over  all  things ;  and  the  apostle  in  Ephesians  tells  us 
for  what  use  this  illimitable  power  is  given  :  "  That  ye 
may  know  .  .  .  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of 
his  power  to  usward  who  believe,  according  to  the 
working  of  his  mighty  power  which  he  Avrought  in 
Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  set  him 


Lect.  XV.]     SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.     327 

at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  fai' 
above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  do- 
minion, and  every  name  that  is  namod,  not  only  in  this 
world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come  ;  and  hath  put 
all  things  under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  the  head 
over  all  things  to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the 
fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all."  In  a  word,  his 
kingdom  is  over  his  people,  and  over  all  things,  that  he 
may  secure  their  present  and  everlasting  salvation, 
which  includes  a  spiritual  rule  over  their  hearts  and 
the  administration  of  providence.  Hence,  his  king- 
dom in  this  double  sense  is  called  his  mediatorial  king- 
dom ;  and  the  apostle  speaks  of  it,  when  he  says ,: 
"  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which  hath  made  us 
meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light ;  who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power  of  dark- 
ness, and  hath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  his 
dear  Son  ;  "  i.  e.  translated  us  into  Christ's  kingdom, 
that  we  by  his  gracious  power  be  delivered  from  the 
power  of  darkness  and  be  brought  to  a  participation  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance. 

III.  The  right  of  this  Lordship. 
As  it  is  not  original  but  conferred,  and  conferred  on 
Christ  incarnate  as  the  representative  of  servants,  he 
can  receive  favor  or  privilege  from  God  only  as  other 
creatures,  who  are  servants  of  God  ;  that  is,  as  a  reward 
of  righteousness.  The  justice  of  God  can  allow  it  on  no 
other  principle.  Indeed,  it  is  on  this  moral  necessity 
that  the  whole  scheme  of  salvation  by  Christ  proceeds 
— "  to  declare,"  as  the  apostle  says,  "  his  (God's) 
righteousness,  that  he  might  be  just,  i\nd  the  justifier 
of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus."  The  righteousness 
required,  therefore,  is  such  a  righteousness  as  is  needed 


328      SONSHIP  AND  GOVERNMENT   OF  CHRIST.     [Lect  XV 

bj  those  whom  Christ  represents,  which  is  twofold :  ex- 
piation of  sin,  and  a  meritorious  obedience,  both  of 
which  Christ  offered  unto  God  :  the  expiation  in  his 
death,  the  meritorious  obedience  in  his  honoring  of  the 
law  by  his  whole  life.  Because  of  this  perfect  right- 
eousness which,  through  the  union  of  the  divine  na- 
ture with  the  human  in  which  it  was  offered,  is  of  in- 
finite merit,  the  Father  bestows  the  mediatorial  king- 
dom or  Lordship  on  Christ.  "  Being  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself  and  became  obedient 
unto  (until)  death ;  wherefore  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name,"  &c.  Again :  "  Who  (Jesus  Christ) 
gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people 
(i.  e.  a  people  belonging  unto  himself),  zealovas  of  good 
works."  Again  :  "  The  righteovisness  of  God  which  is 
by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  vmto  all  and  upon  all  them 
that  believe,  .  .  .  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  Christ 
has  thus  purchased  for  his  own  all  that  believe,  and 
they  bear  his  name  stamped,  as  it  were,  upon  them  in 
token  of  their  being  secure  in  him  of  everlasting  life. 
"  In  whom  also,"  says  the  apostle,  "  after  that  ye  be- 
lieved, ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise, 
which  is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance  until  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  purchased  possession,  that  we  should  be  to 
the  praise  of  his  glory."  Hence,  throughout  the  New 
Testament,  the  title  Lord  is  given  only  and  emphati- 
cally to  Jesus  Christ ;  the  Holy  Ghost  thus  showing  us, 
that  now  all  the  divine  jiovernment  in  all  things  re- 
specting  the  church  is  committed  to  him  alone,  as  the 
only  mediator  between  God  and  man. 


Lect.  XV.]   SONSIilP  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHRIST.        329 

Thus  you  have  confirmed  out  of  Scripture  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Catechism,  as  to  the  reason  why  all  true 
Christians  call  Jesus  Christ  "  our  Lord  " :  "  Because 
he  hath  redeemed  us,  botli  soul  and  body,  from  all  our 
sins,  not  with  gold  or  silver,  but  with  his  precious 
blood,  and  hath  delivered  us  from  all  the  power  of  the 
devil,  and  thus  hath  made  us  his  own  property." 

INFERENCES. 

First :  The  safety  of  all  who  believe  in  Christ. 

The  Son  of  God  is  their  king.  Incarnate  as  our 
elder  brother,  we  know  that  he  has  a  sympathy  for 
us ;  appointed  and  accepted  as  our  Redeemer,  we  know 
that  he  has  a  right  to  save  us ;  bringing  to  his  office  all 
the  power  and  authority  of  his  divine  nature,  w^e  know 
that  he  is  able  to  save  us.  Were  he  not  man,  we  might 
doubt  his  willingness  ;  were  he  not  God,  Ave  might 
doubt  his  ability  ;  but  when  we  see  in  him  God  and 
man,  we  may  trust  him  while  we  adore. 

Secondly  ;  The  duty  of  all  who  believe  in  Christ. 

To  serve  him  as  we  would  serve  God,  who  has  given 
us  to  him  ;  to  avow  openly  our  allegiance  to  him  before 
the  world,  and  to  build  up  his  kingdom  as  the  divinely 
ordained  method  of  glorifying  God  in  the  redemption 
of  the  world. 


LECTURE  XVI. 
THE   INCAENATION. 


FOUETEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE    INCARNATION. 

Quest.  XXXV.    What  is  the  meaning  of  these  words :  "  He  was  conceived 

of  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary?" 
Ans.  That  God's  eternal  Son,  who  is  and  continueth  true  and  eternal  God, 

took  upon  him  the  very  nature  of  man,  out  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of 

«;he  Virgin  Mary  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  that  he  might 

also  be  the  true  seed  of  David,  like  unto  his  brethren  in  all  things,  sin 

excepted. 
Quest.  XXXVI.    What  jn-oft  dost  thou  receive  by  Christ's  holy  conceiAion 

and  nativity  f 
Aks.  That  he  is  our  Mediator;  and  with  his  innocence  and  perfect  holiness 

covers  in  the  sight  of  God  my  sins,  wherein  I  was  conceived  and 

brought  forth. 

HAVING  demonstrated  the  true  and  essential  divin- 
ity of  Jesus  Christ,  from  the  express  declaration 
of  Scripture  that  he  is  "  the  only  begotten  Son  "  of 
God ;  and,  also,  his  right  to  be  honored  by  us  as  our 
Lord,  in  consequence  of  the  delegated  authority  he  has 
received  from  the  Father  to  be  Lord  or  head  of  the 
Church,  and  Lord  or  head  over  all  things  for  the  sake 
of  the  Church  ;  we  now  come  to  inquire  how  it  is  that 
w^e  offer  this  divine  homage  and  render  this  entire  obe- 
dience to  one  who  is  presented  before  our  faith  in  the 
form  and  substance  of  a  man  like  ourselves :  which 
leads  us  to  consider  the  great  mystery  of 

The  Incarnation, 
or  the  taking  of  human  nature  upon   himself  by  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God,  or,  as  the  Evangelist  John 


334  THE   INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

expresses  it,  his  "  being  made  flesh,"  or,  as  the  apostle 
Paul  states  it,  his  being  "  sent  forth,  made  of  a  woman." 
This  incarnation  was  necessary  for  the  fulfilment  of 
all  prophecy,  from  the  first  promise  that  "  the  seed  of 
the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,"  to 
the  declaration  of  the  last  of  the  Old  Testament  writ- 
ers, that  "  the  Lord,''''  the  object  of  all  godly  faith  and 
desire,  as  "  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,"  would  per- 
sonally "  come  into  his  temple."  It  is  necessary  to  the 
truth  of  all  the  evangelical  Scriptures,  which  set  forth 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  the  Saviour  in  whom  we  are  to 
trust,  and  describe  him  with  the  perfections  of  eternal 
God.     Hence  the  Church  Catholic  requires  each  of  her 

members  to  say :  "  I  believe in  Jesus  Christ, 

his  (God's)  only  begotten  Son,  our  Lord,  who  tvas  con- 
ceived hy  the  Holy  Ghost,  horn  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  "  — 
which  is  a  declaration  of  our  faith  respecting  the  con- 
stitution of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  person  after  such  a 
manner  that  he  was  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  Our 
lesson  to-day  expounds  the  meaning  of  these  words,  and 
has  two  parts :  The  jirst  asserting  the  fact  of  the  in- 
carnation (35th  Question  and  Answer)  ;  the  second 
showing  the  reasons  for  the  incarnation  (36th  Ques- 
tion and  Answer)  ;  both  of  which  we  shall  handle 
as  succinctly  as  the  importance  of  the  subject  wall 
allow. 

First  :   The  fact  of  the  Incarnation. 

"  God's  eternal  Son,  who  is  and  continueth  true  and 
eternal  God,  took  upon  him  the  very  nature  of  man,  out 
of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  by  the  ope- 
ration of  the  Holy  Ghost :  that  he  might  also  be  the 
true  seed  of  David  like  unto  his  brethren  in  all  things, 
sin  excepted." 


A.ECT.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNATION.  335 

We  derive  our  knowledge  of  the  incarnation  only 
from  the  word  of  God,  who  alone  could  reveal  it ;  and 
we  believe  the  great  truth  which  it  contains  solely  on 
divine  testimony.  The  Scriptures  which  recite  the 
glorious  mystery,  are  so  familiar  to  us,  and  so  very 
many,  that  we  need  not  quote  them  at  full  length  ;  but 
may  take  out  of  them  the  principal  particulars  referred 
to  by  the  Catechism  in  the  place  before  us  :  and  these 
we  shall  arrange  under  three  propositions  concerning 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  I.  He  is  truly  man.  II.  He 
is  truly  God.  III.  He  is  both  God  and  man  in  one. 
We  say  is,  not  was ;  for  what  our  Lord  became  at  his 
incarnation,  he  is  now  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and 
will  continue  to  be  forever. 

I.  He  is  truly  man. 

A  man  is  compounded  of  a  substantial  body  having 
certain  physical  qualities  and  faculties,  and  of  a  spiritual 
soul  having  will,  understanding,  and  aflFections.  So 
did  our  Lord  become  man. 

1.  As  to  his  body.  It  was  substantial —  not  a  mere 
phantom  or  appeai'ance  of  a  body,  but  having  all  the 
qualities  which  distinguish  substance  from  spirit.  "Han- 
dle me  and  see,"  said  he  to  his  disciples  after  his  resur- 
rection ;  "  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see 
me  (or  perceive  me  to)  have." 

It  was  a  human  body.  Flesh  is  a  term  used  generally 
for  the  substantial  part  of  man.  "  The  word  becam 
flesh,'"  says  the  Evangelist ;  "  Forasmuch  as  the  chil- 
dren were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself 
took  part  of  the  same."  His  glorified  body  has  under- 
gone that  change  which  the  apostle  describes,  when, 
in  the  xv.  of  1  Corinthians,  he  speaks  of  the  body 
which  the  believer  will  have  after  the  resurrection  ;  but 


836  THE  INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

his  body,  wliile  he  was  on  earth,  was  as  truly  human  as 
GUI'S  are,  and,  if  we  be  his  people,  ours  will  be  glorified 
as  his  is  now.  "  He,"  says  the  apostle  in  Philippians, 
"  shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned 
like  unto  his  glorious  body  ;"  which  could  not  be,  if  his 
body  had  not  been  first  like  ours.  There  was  purity 
in  our  Saviour's  body  from  the  holy  manner  of  its  ori- 
gin and  his  constitutional  sinlessness,  but,  whether  on 
earth  or  in  heaven,  it  had  and  has  all  necessary  human 
characteristics. 

He  was  "  born  of  a  woman  ; "  "  the  seed  of  the 
woman,"  according  to  the  first  promise  ;  "  made  of  a 
woman,"  as  the  apostle  has  it ;  "  conceived  in  her," 
as  the  angel  told  Joseph  ;  carried  in  her  womb  until 
"  the  days  were  accomplished  that  she  should  be  deliv- 
ered." The  generative  cause  of  the  conception  Avas 
miraculous  from  a  divine  energy  :  "  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  says  the  Creed,  or,  more  properly  ren- 
dered,/rom  the  Holy  Ghost ;  '•  by  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  "  our  Catechism  explains  it.  "  The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the 
Highest  shall  overshadow  thee:  therefore,  also,  that  holy 
thing  (creature)  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  God,"  is  the  declaration  of  the  angel. 
The  blessed  Mary  was  a  virgin  ;  but  all  that  a  woman 
is  to  a  child  of  which  she  is  the  mother,  she  was  to  our 
Lord's  humanity;  —  not  to  his  divine  nature,  for  the 
Papists  talk  blasphemously  when  they  call  her  the 
mother  of  God.  The  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
threefold  :  in  sanctifying  the  body  of  the  Virgin  for 
the  purpose  of  our  Lord's  becoming  flesh  through  her ; 
in  causing  the  conception,  and  in  sanctifying  the  child  : 
hence,  the  purity  and  sinlessness  of  our  Lord's  human- 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNATION.  337 

ity,  for  he  was  not  conceived  in  sin  and  brought  forth 
in  iniquity,  as  we  are  ;  hence,  also,  his  freedom  from 
the  moral  connection  which  all  others  born  of  woman 
have  with  tli#i  first  Adam's  apostasy.  But  in  all  other 
respects,  Christ  derived  his  body  as  we  have  derived 
ours. 

The  papists  have  many  idle  and  preposterous  fables 
about  the  incarnation  ;  and  a  little  while  ago  a  council 
of  their  bishops  met  to  determine  that  the  Virgin  Mary 
herself  was  conceived  without  sin,  which  would  seem 
also  to  require  that  her  mother  was  as  immaculately 
born,  and  so  backward  to  the  first  mother  :  but  the 
scriptural  doctrine  is,  that  the  sanctification  of  Mary  for 
her  maternal  office  was  at  the  time  of  her  conception 
from  the  Holy  Ghost.     We  reject  with  horror  all  the 
profane    inventions    of  a   miserable   idolatry,    but    we 
should  receive  with   adoring  faith  all  that  the  divine 
word  teaches  of  the  manner  in  which  Jesus  Christ  is 
truly  human  ;  and  how  nobly  does  the  sacred  narrative 
exalt  the  character  of  maternity  above  the  disgraces  of 
the  fall !  How  absurd  are  the  honors  which  the  papists, 
imitating  Gnostic  follies,  would  throw  around  a  celibate 
state  !     If  God  chose  a  virgin  to  exalt  her,  the  exalta- 
tion he  conferred  was  making  her  a  mother  I     It  could 
be  the  privilege  of  but  one  woman  to  bear  our  Elder 
Brother  ;  yet  blessed  are  all  those  women  wh.ose  mater- 
nal faith  consecrates  their  offspring  to  be  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty,  immortal  heirs  of  his 
heavenly  kingdom  ! 

2.  Our  Lord  derived  his  human  soul  in  the  same 

manner  (mysterious  beyond  all  guess  at  explanation) 

that  every  man  derives  his  soul  with  his  body.      All 

further  question  is  idle,   for  it  would  be  prying  into 

VOL.  I.  22 


338  THE  INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

what  God  has  not  revealed.  But  it  were  grave  heresy 
to  suppose  that  our  Lord  liad  not  a  human  soul  as  truly 
as  he  had  a  human  body ;  for  without  either  he  would 
not  have  been  man.  He  needed  to  be  made  like  unto 
his  brethren  in  all  things,  "  that  he  might  be  a  merciful 
and  faithful  high  priest,  in  things  pertaining  to  God." 

3.  The  history  of  our  Lord  after  his  birth  confirms 
the  truth  of  his  full  humanity.  He  was  nourished  as  a 
babe  at  the  breast.  He  increased  in  stature,  from  the 
weakness  that  needed  the  swaddling  bands,  and  the 
support  of  his  mother's  arms.  He  went  up  as  a  Jewish 
lad  when  twelve  years  old  to  keep  the  Passover  at  Je- 
rusalem, and  afterwards  passed  through  youth  to  the 
adult  stature  of  man.  He  saw,  he  heard,  he  felt,  he 
spake,  he  walked.  He  hungered,  and  eat ;  he  was 
thirsty,  and  drank.  He  was  weary,  and  he  rested. 
When  night  came,  he  slept ;  and  (oh,  blessed  proof 
of  human  sympathy  !)  he  wept.  He  suffered  extreme 
agony,  sweating  "great  drops  of  blood,"  and,  wrung 
with  mortal  anguish  upon  the  cross  to  which  his  blessed 
hands  were  nailed  and  his  feet  bound,  his  meek  brow 
bleeding  under  the  thorns,  his  dear  side  pierced  to  his 
heart  by  the  cursed  spear,  he  died,  breathing  out  his 
soul,  was  laid  in  a  tomb,  and  the  spices  were  prepared 
for  his  embalmment. 

He  thought  as  a  man.  He  was  taught  and  grew 
"  in  wisdom  "  and  "  in  favor  with  God  and  man."  He 
performed  the  moral  duties  of  a  man  ;  witness,  his  obe- 
dience to  his  mother  and  to  Joseph  her  husband,  to  the 
Jewish  authorities,  to  C^sar,  and  to  God.  He  loved 
as  a  son,  and  as  a  friend,  and  as  a  patriot.  He  was 
full  of  human  sympathies ;  pitying  the  poor,  the  dis- 
eased, and  the  sorrowful.     He  took  little  children  up  in 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNATION.  339 

his  arms ;  he  was  grateful  for  friendly  kindness,  and  at 
the  grave  of  his  friend  he  groaned  in  spirit,  being 
troubled.  He  prayed  "  with  strong  crying  and  tears." 
He  devoted  himself  with  most  intelligent  and  hearty 
zeal  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father.  He  "  learned  obedi- 
ence by  the  things  which  he  suffered."  "  For  we  have 
not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with  the 
feeling  of  our  infirmities  ;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted 
like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin." 

Yes  !  he  was  pure.  The  seed  of  the  woman,  con- 
ceived of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  fell  not  in  Adam.  Born 
of  a  woman,  yet  begotten  of  God,  he  was  our  fellow- 
man  but  not  our  fellow-sinner.  Sanctified  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  from  the  womb,  "  he  did  no  sin,  neither  was 
guile  found  in  his  mouth,"  but  he  was  "  holy,  harmless, 
undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners."  His  holy  soul 
ruled  the  infirmities  of  his  body,  and  he  was  "  as  a 
lamb  without  blemish,  and  without  spot." 

Thus  was  he  truly  man :  "  the  son  of  man,"  "  the  seed 
of  David  ;  "  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus  ;  "  "  the  man  ap- 
proved of  God ;  "  "  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained," 
"the  second  Adam,"  The  perfect  humanity  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  an  essential  article  of  the  Christian  creed  ;  for 
our  Lord  himself  hath  said  :  "  Except  ye  eat  my  flesh 
and  drink  my  blood  "  (i.  e.  receive  the  doctrines  of  my 
incarnation  and  atonement),  "  ye  have  no  life  in  you." 

II.  He  is  truly  God. 

This  we  have  already  sufficiently  proved  in  our  ex- 
position of  several  sections,  but  especially  the  last,  when 
we  showed  that  the  Son  whom  God  the  Father  sent 
into  the  world  to  be  made  of  a  woman,  is  the  only  begot- 
ten Son  of  God ;  by  which  phrase  we  can  understand 
nothing  else  than  that  he  is  truly  and  essentially  of  thft 


340  THE  INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

same  nature  as  his  Father.  The  same  "  Word  "  which 
was  God  in  the  beginning,  "  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us,"  says  the  EvangeHst ;  "  and  we  beheld  his 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth."  If,  therefore,  he  was  God 
before  his  incarnation,  he  must  continue  to  be  God  after 
his  incarnation ;  that  is,  God  is  essentially  eternal,  and 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God  must  be  God  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting.  Thus  the  Evangelist  applies  to 
the  incarnation  the  very  distinct  prophecy  of  Isaiah  : 
"  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall  bring 
forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel, 
which,  being  interpreted,  is,  God  with  us."  So  St. 
Paul  also  :  "  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  .  .  .  took 
upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men."  So  the  apostle  again  :  "  Great  is 
the  mystery  of  godliness  :  God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 
So  also  the  Catechism  :  "  God's  eternal  Son,  who  is 
and  continueth  true  and  eternal  God,  took  upon  him 
the  very  nature  of  man."  We  may  then  pass  on  to 
our  remaining  proposition :  — 

III.     He  is  God  and  man  in  one  person. 

God  the  Son  dwelt  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  The 
Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us ;  or,  more  lit- 
erally, tabernacled  among  us.  He  took  the  humanity, 
so  miraculovisly  prepared,  for  a  tent,  a  habitation,  a 
covering  under  which  he  humbled  himself,  radiating 
his  divine  glory  through  it  as  the  mediator  between 
God  and  man.  The  writer  to  the  Hebrews  calls  it  the 
vail  of  his  divinity :  "  The  rent  vail,  that  is  to  say,  his 
flesh."  "  For  in  him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily."  He  entered  the  flesh  within  the 
Virgin  Mary,  for  the  "  holy  thing  which  was  born  of 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARXATION".  341 

her  is  called  the  Son  of  God."  Nor  was  this  dwelling 
only  in  his  body,  bnt  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  soul  and 
body ;  in  the  mind,  the  affections,  and  the  will  of  the 
holy  man,  using  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  physical 
faculties  of  the  humanity :  for  the  human  obedience, 
active  and  passive,  which  he  came  in  the  flesh  to  ren- 
der acceptable,  because  infinitely  meritorious,  was  of 
the  soul  as  well  as  of  the  body. 

But  it  was  more  than  a  mere  indwelling,  such  as  that 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  every  believer.  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh."  The  passive  verb  is  there  used  to  indi- 
cate the  concurrent  action  of  the  Father,  who  sent  his 
only  begotten,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  overshad- 
owed the  Virgin  with  the  third  person  of  the  ever- 
blessed  Trinity  (Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Ghost !),  and  of  the  Son,  who,  of  his  own 
personal  will  and  by  his  own  personal  act,  came  into  the 
world  as  the  seed  of  the  woman.  "  He  took  upon  him 
the  form  of  a  servant."  "  Forasmuch  as  the  children 
ai'e  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  like- 
wise took  part  of  the  same,"  i.  e.  participated  in  our 
human  nature.  Here,  in  the  word  took,  we  have  the 
nearest  approach  we  can  have  to  an  explanation  of  the. 
manner  after  which  the  divine  and  human  natures  of 
our  Lord  were  united.  He  took  the  human  nature  to 
his  own  divine  nature.  The  hvimau  nature — body  and 
soul  —  in  all  its  parts,  qualities,  faculties,  and  functions, 
physical  and  spiritual,  became  his,  his  own  ;  not  in  es- 
sence but  in  relation,  by  assumption  and  adjunction. 
Hence,  the  pains  of  the  man,  his  sorrows,  his  very 
death,  became,  as  the  language  of  many  scriptures  as- 
serts, the  pains,  the  sorrows  and  death  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ.     He  is  truly  man  as  he  is  truly  God.      His 


342  THE  INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

divinity  was  not  transformed  into  humanity ;  he  is  still 
God.  The  humanity  was  not  transformed  into  divinity : 
he  is  still  man.  The  divinity  was  not  commixt  with 
the  humanity,  nor  the  hmnanity  with  the  divinity,  else 
he  would  be  neither  God  nor  man.  He  is  both  God 
and  man.  The  divinity  was  not  made  less,  for  infinite- 
ness  is  essential  to  it ;  the  humanity  is  not  made  more , 
for  finiteness  is  essential  to  it.  He  is  entitled  to  all  the 
divine  attributes  while  he  disowns  nothing  that  is  hu- 
man except  sin.  He  is  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God, 
yet  our  brother.  The  human  nature  is  adjoined  to  the 
divine.  He  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  incarnate 
God,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  ;  Emmanuel,  God  with 
us.  God,  yet  man  ;  man,  yet  God :  the  God  distinct 
from  the  man ;  the  man  distinct  from  the  God  :  else 
God  would  have  been  a  sufferer,  or  the  works  of  the 
man  been  finite  in  merit.  Yet,  we  repeat,  the  human- 
ity is  so  united  to  the  divinity  that  he  is  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  This  perfect  union  is  described  by  theologians, 
for  want  of  a  better  term,  as  in  one  'person ;  that  is, 
one  individual.  The  divinity  so  pervades,  sanctifies, 
and  renders  meritorious  the  nature,  obedience,  and  suf- 
vferings  of  the  man,  that  the  Father  accepts  them  and 
we  rely  upon  them  as  the  one  infinitely  worthy  atone- 
ment of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Objections  have  been 
made  by  those  who  deny  our  Lord's  personal  divinity, 
to  this  use  of  the  word  person,  and,  did  we  use  it  in  its 
ordinary  sense,  the  objection  would  be  plausible ;  but  the 
singular,  anomalous  nature  of  the  case  warrants  us  in 
using  a  term,  when  we  have  no  other,  according  to  our 
definition  of  it :  which  is  that  oneness  that  constitutes 
the  two  natures  of  Christ,  as  one  agent  or  representa- 
tive for  us  with  the  Father. 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNATION.  343 

Other  questions  which  may  be  here  suggested  have 
been  treated,  or  will  be  elsewhere,  in  our  expositions  of 
the  Catechism ;  and  we  wish  to  add  only  that  it  is  im- 
portant for  our  understanding  of  the  true  catholic 
doctrine  to  remember  the  precise  conditions  which  have 
been  specified.  Thus  Hooker,  whom  theologians  wor- 
thily call  the  judicious,  says  that  "  in  four  words  we 
may  fully,  by  way  of  abridgment,  comprise  whatsoever 
antiquity  hath  at  large  handled  "  respecting  the  person 
of  our  Lord,  "  either  in  declaration  of  Christian  belief, 
or  in  refutation  of  heresies,  viz :  truly,  perfectly,  in- 
divisibly,  distinctly.  Truly,  as  to  his  being  God  ;  per- 
fectly, as  to  his  being  man  ;  indivisibly,  as  to  his  being  of 
both  one  ;  distinctly,  as  to  his  continuing  both  in  that 
one."  Indeed,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  first  four 
and  greatest  councils  of  the  church  were  called  to  de- 
fine and  establish  the  catholic  doctrine  on  these  several 
points  :  the  Council  of  Nice,  to  condemn  the  Arians, 
who  denied  the  proper  divinity  of  Christ ;  the  (first) 
Council  of  Constantinople,  to  condemn  the  Apolinari- 
ans,  who  attacked  the  proper  humanity  of  Christ ;  the 
Council  of  Ephesus,  to  condemn  the  Nestorians,  whose 
leader,  Nestorius,  was  wrongfully  charged  with  assert- 
ing that  there  were  two  persons  in  Christ ;  and  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon,  to  condemn  the  Eutychians,  Avho 
confounded  the  two  natures  of  Christ.  All  these  here- 
sies are  fiill  of  mischiefs,  and,  therefore,  our  pastors 
should  imitate  the  ancient  church  in  guarding  the 
people  against  them. 

Secondly  :   The  reasons  for  the  Licarnation. 

Quest.  36.  What  profit  dost  thou  receive  hy  Christ^ s 
holy  conception  and  nativity  ? 

Ans.    That  he  is  our  Mediator,  and  with  his  inno- 


344  THE  INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

cence  and  perfect  holiness  covers  in  tlie  sight  of  God 
my  sins,  in  which  I  was  conceived  and  brought  forth. 

These  heads  of  doctrine  have  been  ah-eady  treated  of 
in  our  lectui'e  on  the  lesson  for  the  Sixth  Lord's  Day, 
but  a  brief  review  of  them  may  not  be  unprofitable. 

The  incarnation  was  necessary, 

I.  To  establish  an  intercourse  between  God  and  man. 

The  sinner  convinced  of  his  guilt  would  not  dare  to 
approach  God,  whom  he  had  ofPended,  and  whose 
wrath  he  knows  himself  to  have  incurred.  Whence 
we  find  those  of  God's  servants  to  Avhom  he  had  mani- 
fested himself,  trembling  with  fear,  and  becoming  as 
dead  men.  It  is  the  difficulty  -which  Job  felt  when  he 
exclaimed  :  "  If  I  wash  myself  with  snow-water,  and 
make  my  hands  never  so  clean,  yet  shalt  ihon  plunge 
me  in  the  ditch,  and  mine  own  clothes  shall  ablior  me  ; 
for  he  is  not  a  man  as  I  am,  that  I  should  answer  him, 
and  we  should  come  together  in  judgment.  Neither 
is  there  any  daysman  betwixt  us,  that  might  lay  his 
hand  upon  us  both.  Let  him  take  away  his  rod  from 
me,  and  let  not  his  fear  terrify  me :  then  would  I  speak 
and  not  fear  him ;  but  it  is  not  so  with  me."  The 
proposition  of  a  reconcilement  must,  therefore,  come 
from  God  to  man.  On  the  other  hand,  God  in  his 
holiness  cannot  approach  the  sinner  and  not  destroy 
him.  "  Thou  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil, 
and  canst  not  look  upon  iniquity,"  says  Habakkuk. 
There  must,  therefore,  be  an  intervention  of  some  pure 
medium  between  holy  God  and  sinful  man  ;  one  equal 
with  God,  yet  equal  with  man,  who  may  put  his  hand 
upon  both  ;  and  that  Mediator  is  found  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  Christ  as  Emmanuel,  God-man.  In  him  we 
behold  God  united  to  humanity,  but  a  humanity  sinless  ; 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNAnON.  345 

humanity  united  to  God,  but  to  God  in  loving-kindness 
and  tender  mercy.  God  looks  well  pleased  on  man 
represented  by  his  incarnate  only  begotten  ;  man  looks 
with  penitent  confidence  on  God  represented  to  him  by 
his  elder  brother.  As  God,  the  blessed  Christ  enters 
into  the  wisdom  of  God  and  is  his  Counsellor  ;  as  man, 
he  assures  the  believer  of  his  kindred  and  is  his  Re- 
deemer. Christ  for  us  hath  by  his  atoning  merit  taken 
away  the  rod  of  his  Father's  wrath ;  and  now,  having 
passed  into  the  heavens  for  us,  his  flesh  once  torn  on 
the  cross  becomes  a  new  and  living  way  which  he  has 
consecrated  for  us,  by  which  we  have  access  with  bold- 
ness unto  God,  even  on  his  throne.  Christ  is  the  real- 
ity of  that  ladder  which  Jacob  saw,  whose  top  rested 
on  heaven  while  it  was  set  on  earth,  by  which  our 
prayers  ascend  to  God,  and  the  blessings  of  God  de- 
scend to  us. 

II.  To  make  a  sufficient  ground  of  our  reconciliation 
with  God. 

Whatever  be  the  merciful  purpose  of  God  towards 
the  sinner,  he  must  be  just ;  and  God,  not  laying  aside 
his  justice,  yet  bent  upon  mercy,  provides  a  method  by 
which  his  violated  law  is  magnified,  yet  his  grace  vin- 
dicated from  reproach  ;  and  that  method  is  the  substi- 
tution of  the  Emmanuel  to  expiate  our  guilt  and  pro- 
vide a  righteousness  on  the  credit  of  which  we  may  be 
rewarded.  "  He  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him."  It  was  necessary  that  this  substitute  should  be 
divine,  for  every  creature  is  himself  subject  to  God, 
and  requires  all  his  powers  to  discharge  his  own  duty. 
It  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  in  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant, for   God  himself  cannot  be  under  his  own  law. 


346  THE  INCARNATION.  [Lect.  XVI 

It  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  a  man,  because  man 
was  the  sinner  to  be  redeemed ;  that  he  should  magnify 
the  law  given  to  man,  because  that  was  the  law  which 
had  been  dishonored  ;  that  the  law  should  be  magnified 
on  earth,  because  it  was  given  to  rule  man  in  this  life. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  penalty  of  the  law  should  be 
endured  in  the  nature  of  man,  and  in  the  sphere  of  his 
rebellion,  because  here  the  curse  had  passed  upon  hu- 
man nature.  But  it  was  necessary  that  an  infinite 
merit  should  be  communicated  to  the  obedience  and 
sufferings  of  the  substitute  in  human  nature ;  and  so 
the  divinity  in  the  humanity  pervaded  the  actions  of 
Christ,  honoring  the  law  infinitely  more  than  the  obe- 
dience or  eternal  punishment  of  a  whole  woidd. 

III.  To  sustain  man  in  his  weakness. 

With  the  wrath  of  God  have  come  on  man  a  thou- 
sand woes.  The  natural,  as  well  as  the  penal,  conse- 
quence of  sin,  is  death,  with  all  its  procursive  evils  and 
all  its  following  torment.  Bitter  is  the  cup  which  time 
presses  on  every  human  life.  Without  some  strong 
sustaining  power  man  would  sink  under  his  calamities. 
The  child  of  God,  even  while  he  looks  forward  to 
heaven,  is  not  relieved  from  his  pains  and  sorrows. 
Still  the  body  of  sin  and  death  is  around  his  spirit. 
Still  he  lives  in  a  fallen,  faded,  polluted,  and  hostile 
world.  Still  he  must  meet  the  malice  of  the  Satanic 
tempter  and  the  contradiction  of  sinners.  Grace  has, 
indeed,  made  a  blessed  change.  Afflictions  are  to  him 
no  longer  evidence  of  divine  wrath,  but  proofs  of  a 
father's  care  to  chasten  him  for  heaven.  Yet  he  must 
be  assured  of  this  blessing  and  be  upheld,  for  his  flesh 
is  weak,  though  his  spirit  be  willing.  And  this  is  given 
in  the  person  and  sorrows  of  Christ,  who  was   tried 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNATION.  347 

with  all  our  temptations,  whose  heart  bled  in  all  our 
griefs,  who  shuddered  under  the  deep  shadows  of  his 
Father's  wrath,  and  poured  out  his  soul  amidst  the  an- 
guish of  a  cruel  death.  He  himself  learned  obedience 
by  the  things  that  he  suffered  ;  and  now  on  the  throne 
of  his  glory,  he  knoAvs  how  to  succor  them  that  are 
tempted  ;  and,  while  he  assures  the  believer  of  his  hu- 
man sympathy,  he  assures  him  also  of  the  same  divine 
strength  that  sustained  him  under  the  griefs  and  diffi- 
culties that  we  are  passing  through.  With  what  strong 
consolation  is  the  Christian  met  as  he  flies  for  refuge  to 
the  hope  set  before  him,  and  sees  the  great  sufferer  on 
the  right  hand  of  God ;  the  crown  of  universal  glory 
on  the  brow  yet  scarred  with  thorns,  and  the  hand 
pierced  by  the  nail  holding  forth  to  him  the  sceptre,  that 
he  may  touch  it  and  live  forever.  Looking  unto  Jesus, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who,  for  the  joy 
that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  he  lays  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin  that  so 
easily  besets  him,  and  runs  with  patience  the  race  set 
before  him.  Nothing  short  of  this  can  sustain  and 
cheer  and  make  us  victorious.  Oh,  the  life  of  my  life 
will  go  out  unless  I  can  see  my  nature  in  him  sustained 
by  the  divine  strength  I  need  ;  unless  I  can  see  the  same 
hand  that  wipes  away  ray  tears  wiping  away  his  own  ; 
unless  I  can  trace  his  footsteps  down  into  the  dark  val- 
ley and  know,  however  painful  my  path  may  be,  that 
he  has  trodden  it  before  me,  and  now  waits  to  wel- 
come me  to  his  joy  when  I  have  drunk  the  cup  which 
he  drank  for  me. 

IV.  To  elevate  our  fallen  nature. 

"  We  are  all  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath."  Cavil 
at  it,  modify  it  as  men  will,  there  is  no  getting  over  the 


348  THE  INCAENATION.  [Lect.  XVI. 

fact  that  in  Adam  our  nature  was  cast  down  from  its 
pristine  dignity  to  shame  and  dust.  "  By  man  sin 
entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin."  By  man 
must  that  nature  be  raised  from  the  dust,  and  its  dignity 
restored.  The  second  Adam  must  repair  the  ruins 
of  the  first,  and,  in  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Lord  from 
heaven,  we  see  all  that  we  have  lost  more  than  restored 
and  secured  to  us  by  a  covenant  never  to  be  broken  be- 
cause its  surety  cannot  fail ;  nay,  which  has  already  ful- 
filled all  its  conditions.  By  man  we  lost  the  image  of 
God,  his  presence  and  communion.  In  Christ  we  behold 
God  again  dwellino-  in  man,  and  offering  to  us  fellow- 
ship  with  the  Father  and  with  himself.  By  man  we 
lost  the  empire  God  gave  him  over  all  things  here  ;  in 
Christ  we  behold  man  head  over  all  things  to  his 
church.  In  man,  we  fell  under  the  tyranny  of  death 
and  him  that  hath  the  power  of  death ;  in  Christ,  we 
behold  the  seed  of  the  woman  bruisino;  the  head  of  the 
serpent,  and,  having  conquered  death  and  hell  in  the 
enemy's  own  dominions,  dragging  them  bound  to  his 
chariot-wheels,  and  making  ostentation  of  his  spoils, 
openly  triumphing.  O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting,  when 
thou  comest  as  a  radiant  angel  to  call  us  home  ;  when 
every  cord  of  flesh  thou  dost  rend  is  but  the  parting  of 
another  stay  that  binds  the  aspiring  soul  to  earth  ;  Avhen 
thy  severest  agonies  are  but  the  wrenching  of  fetters 
from  our  wings !  O  Grave,  where  is  thy  victory, 
when,  through  the  tomb  which  Jesus  has  broken  for 
us,  we  pass  to  the  holy,  glorious  heavens !  There,  the 
second  Adam  has  entered  the  second  paradise ;  and 
there,  when  the  resurrection  shall  change  our  vile  body 
to  be  like  his  glorious  body,  shall  our  entire  humanity 
be  pure,   sinless,   innocent,   and  blessed   forevermore ; 


Lect.  XVI.]  THE  INCARNATION.  349 

but  oil,  with  what  greater  bhss  when  we  walk  amidst 
the  garden  of  delights,  not  alone,  as  Adam  walked  at 
^rst,  or  as  afterwards  with  but  one  to  second  his  praise ; 
but  in  fellowship  with  an  innumerable  company  of 
saints  and  angels  plucking  freely  of  the  tree  of  life, 
and  drinking  of  the  river  of  God's  pleasures  that  flows 
from  out  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  !  And  the 
bliss  shall  be  eternal :  for  sin  can  never  enter  there, 
because  the  second  Adam  is  the  Son  of  God  who  can- 
not die ;  because  he  has  died  on  the  cross  and  now  liv- 
eth  forevermore. 

Great  is  our  confidence,  because  we  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  who 
was  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  born  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary. 


LECTURE  XVII. 
CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND   CROSS. 


FIFTEENTH  LORD'S   DAY. 
CHRIST'S   SUFFERING   AND   CROSS. 

Quest.  XXXVII.  What  dost  thou  understand  by  the  words :  He  suf- 
fered ? 

Ans.  That  lie  all  the  time  that  he  lived  on  earth,  but  especially  at  the 
end  of  his  life,  sustained  in  body  and  soul  the  wrath  of  God  against 
the  sins  of  all  mankind-,  that  so,  by  his  passion,  as  the  only  propitia- 
tory sacrifice,  he  might  redeem  our  body  and  soul  from  everlasting 
damnation,  and  obtain  for  us  the  favor  of  God,  righteousness,  and 
eternal  life. 

Quest.  XXXVIII.     Why  did  he  suffer  under  Pontius  Pilate  as  his  judge  ? 

Ans.  That  he,  being  innocent  and  yet  condemned  by  a  temporal  judge, 
might  thereby  free  us  from  the  severe  judgment  of  God  to  which  we 
were  exposed. 

Quest.  XXXIX.  Is  there  anything  more  in  his  being  crucified  than  if  he 
had  died  some  other  death  'i 

Ans.  Yes,  there  is ;  for  thereby  I  am  assured  that  he  took  on  him  the 
curse  which  lay  upon  me;  for  the  death  of  the  cross  was  accursed  of 
God. 

THE  doctrine  held  by  the  reformed  chuixhes,  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  God,  respecting  the  propitiatory 
and  vicarious  nature  of  our  Lord's  sufferings,  has  nec- 
essarily been  handled  at  large  in  our  comments  on  sev- 
eral previous  lessons,  especially  on  those  for  the  Fourth, 
Fifth,  and  Sixth  Lord's  days ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
requisite,  that,  in  studying  the  article  of  the  creed  be- 
fore us,  we  should  do  more  than  consider  such  particu- 
lars in  it  as  have  not  been  already  treated  of. 

"I  believe  .  .  .  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  .  .  who  .  . 
suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate^  loas  crucified,  dead  and 
buried." 

The  death  and  burial  of  our  Lord  are   reserved  for 
VOL.  I.  23 


354  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.       [Lect.  XVII. 

the  next  lesson ;  and  we  are  now  to  learn  :  What  is 
meant  by  his  suffering  ;  "Why  it  is  stated  that  he  suf- 
ered  under  Pontius  Pilate ;  and  the  reason  for  his 
suffering  on  the  cross. 

First  :  What  do  we  understand  by  the  words :  He 
suffered  f 

The  Catechism  tells  us  in  the  Thirty-seventh  Answer, 
which  has  just  been  read  in  our  hearing. 

Here  are  several  things  to  be  noted :  the  purpose  of 
his  sufferings  ;  the  cause  of  his  sufferings  ;  and  the 
duration  of  his  sufferings. 

I.  The  purpose  of  our  Lord's  suffering. 

"  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 
have  sinned."  That  is  the  history  of  our  ruin.  The 
sentence  which  fell  upon  our  first  parent  has  fallen 
upon  us  all,  for  like  him  we  all  have  sinned.  That 
sentence  is  death :  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof, 
thou  shalt  surely  die."  Death  is  the  mode  and  execu- 
tion of  divine  wrath  against  the  sinner  ;  but  it  means 
more  than  the  separation  of  soul  from  body,  which  Ave 
ordinarily  call  death.  It  is  such  an  infliction  of  divine 
punishment  as  turns  the  life  of  man,  which  God  origi- 
nally meant  for  happiness  in  the  enjoyment  of  divine 
favor,  to  utter  misery  ;  and,  as  man  sins  in  bodily  acts 
consequent  upon  the  will  of  his  spiritual  nature,  and  as 
the  sentence  is  upon  the  whole  man,  both  his  soul  and 
his  body  are  under  the  curse.  The  misery  of  man  is 
not  at  once  extreme,  because,  instantly  with  his  ruin, 
began  the  working  of  the  remedial  scheme  by  which 
the  full  execution  of  the  sentence  was  delayed,  that  the 
sinner  might  have  opportunity  of  repentance  through 
faith  in  the  redemption.     Our  first  parents  did  not  die^ 


Lect.  XVII.]         CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND   CROSS.  355 

that  is,  their  mortal  life  did  not  end,  the  moment  that 
the  sentence  was  incurred ;  but  they  at  once  began  to 
die  :  their  life  was  thenceforward  a  fatal  disease  until  it 
terminated  in  the  mortal  agony,  and  then,  had  not  the 
curse  been  averted  by  the  redemption,  they  would  have 
gone  into  everlasting,  utter  misery.  So  with  us.  We 
are  born  to  die.  Death  meets  us  at  the  beginning  of 
life,  and  we  are  dying  all  through  our  days  on  earth  till 
we  go  to  our  graves  ;  and  then,  if  not  saved  by  Christ, 
we  must  go  to  endure  the  never-ceasing  agonies  of 
eternal  death. 

But  the  purpose  of  God  in  Christ  is  to  redeem  us 
from  death  through  the  consecration  of  Christ  to  die  in 
our  stead,  that  so  the  penalty,  being  transferred  to  him, 
might  no  longer  rest  upon  us  who  accept  the  grace. 
As  the  apostle  says :  "  The  righteousness  of  God  [is 
manifested]  which  is  by  faith  unto  all  and  upon  all 
them  that  believe,  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  :  whom 
God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith  in 
his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of 
God ;  to  declare,  I  say,  at  this  time  his  righteousness  : 
that  he  might  be  just  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  be- 
lieveth  in  Jesus."  On  no  other  ground  but  the  substi- 
tution  of  Christ  to  endure  the  penalty  for  us  could  the 
mercy  of  God  to  us  be  justified,  and  only  through  his 
suffering  can  we  escape  eternal  death.  So,  also,  on  no 
other  ground  can  be  justified  the  suffering  of  the  inno- 
cent Jesus  when  he  was  abandoned  by  God  the  Father, 
whose  word  is  pledged  for  the  reward  of  righteousness, 
to  the  malice  of  wicked  men,  the  ignominy  of  crucifix- 
ion, and  the  curse  of  the  violated  law. 


356  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.       [Lect.  XVIJ. 

II.  The  cause  of  our  Lord's  sufFerino;s, 

The  substitution  of  Christ  for  sinners  exposed  him 
to  the  wrath  of  God  against  sinners,  and,  as  that  divine 
wrath  is  manifested  in  the  sufferings  which  are  the  pun- 
islnnent  of  sin,  so,  as  the  Catechism  teaches  us,  the 
cause  of  Christ's  sufferings  could  be  nothing  else  than 
the  wrath  of  God  laying  upon  him  the  punishment 
which  we  deserve.  There  can  "be  no  suffering  but  that 
which  proceeds  from  the  wrath  of  God  against  sin. 
Yet  the  wrath  of  God  was  not  against  our  Lord  per- 
sonally, because  he  was  without  sin ;  but  against  the 
sinners  whom  he  represented.  It  was  as  if,  when  the 
bolts  of  divine  vengeance  were  launched  against  sin- 
ners,  our  Lord  put  himself  before  them,  sheltering 
them  with  his  own  person  and  receiving  them  on  his 
own  body  and  soul.  He  himself  was,  and  continued  to 
be,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  sufferings,  the  beloved 
of  the  Father  ;  and  it  was  because  he  was  the  beloved 
of  the  Father  that  his  sufferings  had  their  great  merit 
of  j^ropitiation.  Thus  the  prophet :  "  We  did  esteem 
him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted  ;  but  he  was 
wounded  for  our  transgressions  ;  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities  ;  ...  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was 
any  deceit  to  be  found  in  his  mouth  ;  yet  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he  hath  put  him  to  grief."  .  .  . 
"  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied  ; 
by  his  knowledge  (i.  e.  knowledge  of  him  or  faith  in 
him)  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many,  for  he 
shall  bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  will  I  divide  him 
a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil 
with  the  strong ;  because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death,  and  he  'was  nitmbered  with  the  transgress- 
ors, and  h  3  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  interces- 


Lect.XVII.]        CHRIST'S    SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  357 

sion  for  tlie  transgressors."  Or  as  the  apostle  expresses 
it :  "  For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him."  And  again  :  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us  ; 
for  it  is  written,  '  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on 
a  tree : '  "  which  is  equivalent  to  saying  that,  by  his  cru- 
cifixion, he  bore  the  curse  which  we  deserved,  in  our 
stead. 

It  follows,  also,  that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  of 
his  whole  human  nature,  or  "  both  of  his  body  and 
soul,"  as  the  Catechism  has  it.  The  sentence  upon 
man  because  of  his  sin,  is  upon  both  his  body  and  soul. 
Nay,  as  the  body,  not  being  itself  of  a  moral  nature, 
cannot  sin  except  as  it  is  the  instrument  of  the  soul, 
the  suffering  of  the  body  has  no  other  end  or  reason 
but  the  affliction  of  the  soul ;  and,  as  we  see  in  human 
suffering  on  earth,  but  as  will  be  fearfully  more  appar- 
ent in  the  place  of  torment,  the  soul  is  and  must  be  the 
great  sufferer,  not  only  from  its  sympathy  with  the 
body,  but  in  the  anguish  of  its  own  spiritual  remorse 
and  bitter  grief.  It  is  possible,  as  many  a  martyrdom 
or  natural  death-bed  has  shown,  for  a  Christian  to  for- 
get the  keenest  anguish  of  body  in  the  joyful  elevation 
of  his  spirit ;  but  there  is  no  escape  from  the  internal 
ano-uish  of  the  soul  itself.  So,  during  the  interval  be- 
tween  death  and  the  resurrection,  while  the  bodies  of 
the  wicked  are  senseless  dust,  their  spirits  are  in  tor- 
ment ;  —  though  their  torments  will  be  fearfully  aggra- 
vated when,  their  bodies  being  raised,  their  spirits  are 
tormented  through  corporeal  sufferings.  Hence,  as  is 
manifest  from  many  passages,  our  Lord  suffered  not 
only  in  the  pains  of  his  flesh,  but  far  more  in  the  ago- 


358  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.      [Lect.  XVII. 

nies  of  his  spirit.  "  He  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief."  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  is  my  soul 
troubled  ;  "  and  again  :  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sor- 
rowful, even  unto  death."  The  Saviour  was  sinless ; 
but  all  the  distress  that  sin  could  bring  upon  the  soul 
of  one,  who,  not  conscious  of  personal  guilt,  stood  in 
the  room  of  the  guilty,  lie  felt ;  the  sense  of  horror 
from  the  contact  of  sins  laid  upon  him,  the  anguish 
consequent  upon  the  withdrawal  of  his  Father's  coun- 
tenance, the  humiliating  weight  of  the  curse,  the  shrink- 
ing which  the  living  feel  from  an  ignominious,  cruel 
death,  —  all  were  his.  These  were  the  causes  of  that 
fearful,  indescribable  agony  in  the  garden  ;  these  filled 
to  the  brim  that  cup  which  he  shuddered  over  before  he 
could  drink  it,  when,  as  yet,  not  a  hand  had  been  laid 
upon  him,  and  the  physical  torture  of  the  cross  was  in 
anticipation  ;  and  these  wrung  out  of  his  meek  heart 
that  exceedingly  bitter  cry,  "  My  God  !  My  God ! 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  " 

But  our  Lord  stood  not  in  the  room  of  a  single  sin- 
ner ;  he  bare  the  sins  of  many  ;  and  heaven,  opened  to 
us  by  the  vision  of  John,  shows  a  mighty  host  redeemed 
unto  God  by  his  blood.  Hence  his  sufferings  were  in- 
calculably more  than  the  sufferings  of  any  one  mere 
man  could  have  been.  For,  though  we,  unhesitatingly, 
and  not  without  horror,  reject  the  idea  that  his  suffer- 
ings were  weighed  out  to  him  in  exact  proportion  to 
the  sufferings  which  every  individual  of  all  he  re- 
deemed would  otherwise  have  actually  suffered,  Ave 
must  see  that  they  needed  to  be  so  great  as  to  justify 
God  in  taking  away  his  wrath  from  all  the  Saviour's 
people.  It  was,  among  other  reasons,  for  the  purpose 
of  strengthening  our  Lord's  humanity  to  endure  this 


Lect.XVII.]  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  359 

accumulated  aggregation  of  suffering,  that  it  was  con- 
stituted in  union  with  the  divine  nature,  which  also 
gave  to  his  sufferings  their  infinite  value.  So  the 
Catechism  says,  that  "  he  sustained  the  wrath  of  God 
against  the  sins  of  all  mankind." 

This  last  sentence  requires  some  little  explanation 
lest  its  meaning  should  be  misunderstood ;  and  we  shall 
give  it  conformably  to  the  comments  of  the  learned  and 
pious  Ursinus,  the  author  of  the  Catechism,  and,  there- 
fore, the  best  expositor  of  its  sense.  The  idea  of  the 
sentence  is  that  of  several  scriptures :  as  where  our 
Lord  declares  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world  "  as  to 
give  his  only  begotten  Son  ;  and  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews,  that  Christ  "  tasted  death  for  every  man  ;  " 
and  Paul,  that  "  he  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all ; "  and 
John,  "  that  he  is  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 
Yet  Scripture  must  be  read  in  harmony  with  itself; 
and,  as  we  know  that  all  men  are  not  actually  saved, 
but  only  those  who,  through  gi'ace,  being  ordained  to 
eternal  life,  do  believe  and  repent ;  it  cannot  be  that 
our  Lord  bore  the  wrath  of  God  against  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world  in  the  same  sense  or  degree  that  he  bore 
it  in  the  room  of  his  people.  They  were  actually  re- 
deemed by  his  blood,  he  having  taken  the  penalty  they 
deserved  on  himself,  so  that  their  salvation  was  cer- 
tainly secured  by  his  vicarious  satisfaction  ;  but  the  rest 
of  mankind,  though  they  have,  so  far  as  the  gospel  is 
preached  to  them,  opportunities  of  salvation,  are  con- 
demned to  death  eternal,  without  violence  being  done 
to  the  covenant  of  the  Son  with  the  Father,  in  the 
plan  of  salvation. 

Thus  Christ  died  for  all  mankind,  because  in  him 


860  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.      [Lect.  XVII. 

the  blessings  of  salvation  are  not  confined  as  were  those 
of  the  Abrahamic  dispensation,  to  one  particular  peo- 
ple. The  Gospel  is  sent  throughout  all  the  world  to 
be  preached  to  every  creature ;  and  whosoever  will,  be 
he  a  Jew  or  Gentile,  may  take  of  the  water  of  life 
freely.  And  again :  The  merit  of  our  Lord's  suffer- 
ings, through  the  union  of  his  human  to  his  divine 
nature,  is  infinite  ;  displaying  the  wrath  of  God  against 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  and  so  justifying  the  offer 
of  divine  mercy  to  every  sinner  that  believes  on  his 
name.  As  several  of  the  later  fathers,  following  Ter- 
tullian,  phrase  it :  "  His  merits  are  sufficient  for  all ;  but 
efficient  for  the  elect ;  "  and  Aquinas,  whom  the  Papists 
call  "  the  Angelical  Doctor,"  teaches  :  "  The  merit  of 
Christ  as  concerns  its  sufficiency  equally  belongeth  to 
all  men  ;  but  as  to  its  efficacy,  .  .  .  the  effects  and 
fruits  of  it  are  mercifully  bestowed  on  some,  and,  by  the 
just  judgment  of  God,  withheld  from  others."  Nor 
can  this  be  otherwise,  since  it  were  preposterous  to 
make  Christ  the  substitute  of  those  that  refuse  his  rep- 
resentation. But  it  is,  on  the  other  hand,  positively  true 
that  the  benefits  of  Christ's  merit  do  actvially,  though 
not  in  a  saving  degree,  extend  to  all  men :  because,  for 
the  sake  of  Christ,  all  temporal  mercies  come  to  all, 
and  the  world  is  kept  by  his  intercession  from  becoming 
a  hell  of  extreme  torture  and  despair ;  and  very  pre- 
cious blessings,  though  not  the  most  precious,  are  be- 
stowed on  mankind  throuo-h  the  restraining  influence 
of  Christianity  and  the  light  which  it  sheds  on  every 
mind  wherever  the  healino-  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Rio-ht- 
eousness  shine.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that,  if  we 
believe  in  Christ  with  our  whole  heart,  his  merit  will 
certainly  save  us  ;  but,  if  we  refuse  the  grace  he  offers, 


Lect.  XVII.]        CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  36l 

not  all  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  warrants  the  slight- 
est hope  of  escape  from  everlasting  death. 

III.  The  duration  of  oin*  Lord's  snfFerings. 

On  this  particular  we  need  not  greatly  enlarge ;  for, 
as  we  have  already  shown  that  the  penalty  of  death 
which  was  inflicted  on  men  was  not  merely  the  mortal 
agony  of  the  dissolution  of  soul  and  body,  but  all  the 
evil  consequent  upon  our  mortality,  which  is,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  our  Church,  "  a  continual  death,"  or,  as  we 
expressed  it,  a  long  mortal  disease  of  which  what  we 
ordinarily  call  death  is  the  critical  symptom,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  imputed  death  should  come  upon  our 
Lord  at  the  very  moment  of  his  life's  beginning.  All 
his  life  on  earth,  he  was  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and 
afflicted.  His  spirit  was  under  the  shadows  which  pre- 
ceded the  utter  darkness  of  the  cross,  and,  learning 
obedience  through  the  things  which  he  suffered,  he 
became  our  sympathizing  Saviour,  and  knows  how  to 
succor  us  who  are  tempted,  that  we  may  overcome  the 
world,  and,  notwithstanding  our  manifold  tribulation, 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  All  his  precursive 
suffering  would  not  have  been  enough  (as  we  shall 
hereafter  learn)  without  the  consummation  of  his  death 
on  the  cross  ;  but,  had  he  not  suffered  from  his  manger 
to  his  giving  up  his  spirit  on  the  cross,  he  would  not 
have  suffered  the  death  we  deserve  to  die,  nor  have 
secured  for  us  the  grace  by  which  alone  we  may  "  live 
unto  God  "  while  "  we  die  daily." 

Secondly  :  Why  is  it  stated  that  he  suffered  under 
Pontius  Pilate? 

The  main  reason,  doubtless,  for  the  insertion  of  this 
man's  name  here,  was  that  the  date  of  our  Lord's  suf- 
fering on  the  cross  might  be  precisely  fixed.     The  sev- 


362  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.      [Lect.  XVII. 

eral  gospels  repeatedly  speak  of  Pontius  Pilate  as  the 
Roman  officer,  or  procurator,  charged  by  the  emperor 
with  the  government  of  Judea  at  the  time  of  which 
they  write.  Luke,  the  evangelist,  had  before  said 
that  Pontius  Pilate  was  governor  of  Judea  when 
the  Baptist  began  to  preach.  Now  we  know  from 
other  histories  that  Pilate  was  removed  from  his  procu- 
ratorship  just  before  the  death  of  Tiberius,  and  after  he 
had-  exercised  his  government  ten  years.  This  fixes 
the  period  of  his  administration  between  A.  D.  25  and 
35,  which  corresponds  with  all  reasonable  accuracy  to 
the  sacred  chronology,*  and  proves  that  our  Lord  was 
crucified  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius. 
Justin  Martyr,  in  his  Apology  (or  defence)  for  Chris- 
tianity, about  the  beginning  of  the  second  century, 
boldly  appeals  to  the  record  of  the  acts  of  Pontius  Pi- 
late, then,  like  the  reports  of  all  governors,  on  file  at 
Rome,  for  the  truth  of  the  facts  respecting  the  passion 
of  our  Lord.  There  is  also  a  remarkable  passage 
found  in  some  editions  of  the  Jewish  History  by  Jose- 
phus,  which  speaks  of  an  extraordinary  person,  well 
known  by  the  name  of  Christ,  who  taught  new  and 
extraordinary  doctrines,  and  wrought  miracles,  and 
persuaded  many  people  to  follow  his  opinions,  who  were 
called  after  him  Christians  ;  but,  being  brought  before 
Pilate  by  impeachment  of  the  principal  Jews,  he  was 
crucified.  Yet  his  followers  did  not  desist,  but  claimed 
through  their  preachers  to  have  seen  him  alive  three 
days  after  his  death.  The  passage  has,  however,  been 
thought  by  many,  though  not  all,  learned  men  to  have 
been  a  forged  interpolation  of  the  text  of  Josephus, 
and,  therefore,  we  need  not  insist  upon  citing  it  as  cor- 

*  See  Lardner,  Cred.  Gos.  His.,  vol.  i.  b.  ii.  c.  2. 


Lect.  XVII.]      CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  363 

roboratoiy  proof.  My  own  opinion  is  that  the  passage 
is  genuine ;  but  modesty  may  well  prevent  me  from 
urging  it  when  Lardner  is  against  it.  But  there  is  a 
passage  in  the  Annals  of  Tacitus  which  cannot  be  im- 
j)eached,  and  states  that  "  Nero  persecuted  with  ex- 
quisite torments  a  sect  of  men  commonly  called  Chris- 
tians,—  called  so  from  Christus,  who  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius  was  executed  imder  Pontius  Pilate,  the  pro- 
curator of  Judea."  There  are  other  highly  convincing 
testimonies  of  writers  not  Christian  ;  but  these  may 
suffice  to  show  the  reason  for  this  sentence  in  the 
Creed. 

It  is  proper,  however,  from  deference  to  the  teaching 
of  the  Catechism,  and  for  our  greater  edification,  that 
we  note  here  several  important  truths  connected  with 
our  Lord's  suffering  under  Pontius  Pilate. 

1.  It  coincides  with  prophecy.     For,  — 

a.  Shiloh  could  not  come  until  the  sceptre  had  de- 
parted from  Judah  ;  which  was  not  the  case  until  after 
the  death  of  Herod  the  Great,  and  the  appointment  of 
a  Roman  governor  over  Judea  as  a  conquered  province. 
Hence  the  Jews,  by  appealing  to  Pilate,  acknowledged 
their  lack  of  authority. 

h.  The  Jews,  and  the  Romans,  now  the  masters  of 
the  world,  may  be  said  to  have  comprehended  all  man- 
kind ;  and  our  Lord  was  "  to  be  despised  and  rejected 
of  men  : "  not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  of  men  generally. 
So  the  Psalmist :  "  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth 
set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together 
against  the  Lord  and  his  anointed  ;  "  and  the  company 
of  believers  after  the  Pentecost  interpret  "  the  people  " 
as  the  people  of  Israel  (Acts  iv.  27),  and,  following  the 


364  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lect.  XVII 

same  view,  we  may  suppose  that  by  "  the  rulers  "  are 
meant  the  rulers  of  the  Jews,  who  united  with  the 
Roman  authorities  in  the  execution  of  Christ,  or  the 
Lord's  anointed  ;  as  Jesus  himself  had  told  his  disciples  : 
"  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  betrayed  unto  the  chief 
priests  and  unto  the  scribes,  and  they  shall  condemn 
him  to  death  ;  and  shall  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles  to 
mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify  him." 

c.  It  was  necessary  also  that  he  should  "  be  taken 
from  prison  and  from  judgment,"  So  was  he  impris- 
oned and  put  to  death  under  the  double  sentence  of  the 
Jewish  Sanhedrim  and  the  Roman  governor. 

d.  It  was  distinctly  foretold  that  the  Messiah  should 
bear  the  curse  by  hanging  on  a  tree ;  but,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  crucifixion  was  a  mode  of  punishment 
never  used  by  the  Jews,  who,  if  they  had  executed  the 
Saviour,  would  have  stoned  him  to  death,  —  the  punish- 
ment of  blasphemy  by  their  law. 

2.  There  was  a  most  fittino;  sio;nificance,  as  the  Cat- 
echism  says,  in  his  being,  "  though  innocent,  condemned 
by  a  temporal  judge  that  he  might  free  us  from  the 
severe  judgment  of  God  to  which  we  were  exposed." 
We  see  him,  the  just,  crucified  as  the  unjust.  His 
innocence  is  acknowledged.  Pilate's  wife  from  her 
miraculous  dream,  the  penitent  thief  by  his  side,  the 
centurion  who  glorified  God  after  his  death,  and  all  the 
people  that  stood  beholding  and  smote  their  breasts, 
but  especially  Pilate  himself,  in  explicit  and  repeated 
declarations,  testified  his  innocence  :  yet  was  he  never- 
theless condemned  and  crucified  under  the  will  of  God, 
acting  through  the  hands  of  ostensible  authority.  So 
may  we,  as  M^e  look  upon  the  sufferer,  see  him  taking 
our  place,  bearing  our  condemnation,  and  dying,  not 


Lect.  XVll.J       CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  365 

liimself  guilty,  the  death  which  we  deserved.  Nor 
should  we  overlook  the  strong  consolation  that,  though 
the  world  may  unjustly  reproach,  condemn,  and  perse- 
cute his  people  for  his  sake,  all  its  malice  is  of  lit- 
tle account,  so  that  we  are  able,  through  faith  in  his 
guiltless  sufferings,  to  have  the  pardon  and  favor  of 
God  his  Father.  God  may  chasten  the  Christian  even 
by  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  but  will  not  forsake  him 
or  suffer  him  to  be  overwhelmed.  Nay,  though  he 
slay  us  we  may  yet  trust  in  him. 

Thirdly  :  The  reason  for  our  Lord's  suffering  on  the 
cross. 

"  Thereby,"  says  the  Catechism,  "  I  am  assured  that 
he  took  on  him  the  curse  which  lay  iipon  me,  for  the 
death  of  the  cross  was  accursed  of  God." 

This  is  in  agreement  with  the  apostle  (Galatians  iii. 
13)  :  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us  ;  for  it  is  written, 
Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree."  Let  us, 
however,  for  greater  explicitness,  consider  first  the 
nature  of  crucifixion,  and  then  the  reasons  why  our 
Lord  was  put  to  death  in  that  manner. 
1.  The  nature  of  crucifixion. 

It  was  probably  a  most  ancient  mode  of  punishment : 
for  nothing  was  more  natural  than  that  men,  deter- 
mined to  execute  a  criminal  or  an  enemy,  should,  if 
they  refused  him  the  mercy  of  the  sword,  hang  him  on 
the  nearest  tree ;  and  this  especially  when  they  meant 
to  make  him  a  spectacle  of  ignominy,  vengeance,  or 
warning.  Examples  of  this  are  frequent  among  all 
people.  When,  however,  they  desired  to  protract  the 
ao-onies  of  the  victim,  they  would  fasten  him  upon  the 
tree  to  perish  with  pain  and  hunger.      The  tree  would 


366  CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.        [Lect.  XVII. 

afford  an  opportunity  for  this  by  its  forked  or  trans- 
verse branches  :  hence,  one  of  the  Latin  terms  for  such 
an  instrument  of  torture  was  furca,  or  fork,  like  the 
letter  Y  ;  and  another,  j^aif 6 w/wm,  (from  joatere,  quasi  to 
stretch  apart,)  which  would  seem  to  intend  the  cross- 
piece  to  the  perpendicular,  forming  the  letter  T.  In 
process  of  time  the  cross  came  to  be  artificially  con- 
structed of  two  beams  in  this  last  form,  or,  sometimes, 
though  at  a  much  later  period,  like  the  letter  X.  The 
Jews,  as  we  learn  from  several  passages,  used  to  hang 
persons  convicted  of  certain  crimes  on  a  tree,  as  crim- 
inals among  us  are  hung  by  the  neck  on  a  gallows  ;  but 
their  law  did  not  allow  them  to  protract  their  suffer- 
ings, nor  to  leave  the  bodies  hanging  after  sunset. 
Among  the  Greeks,  and,  especially,  the  Romans,  cruci- 
fixion was  common,  but  was  ever  considered  the  most 
disgraceful  and  extreme  mode  of  punishment,  —  being 
awarded  only  to  slaves  and  the  worst  malefactors, 
though  sometimes  to  their  barbarian  captives,  whom 
they  considered  as  slaves. 

When  a  person  was  condemned  to  the  cross,  the 
command  of  the  magistrate  to  the  executioner  was : 
"  Go  ;  bind  his  hands,  scourge  him,  cover  his  head, 
hang  him  on  the  unhappy  tree."  Scourging  in  every 
case  preceded  the  crucifixion.  It  would  seem,  also,  that 
the  convict  was  made  to  bear  his  cross  to  the  place  of 
punishment.  When  there,  in  some  cases  the  cross  was 
first  laid  along  on  the  ground,  and  the  man  so  bound 
to  it  that  it  might  be  lifted  with  him  and  fixed  uprightly  ; 
or  the  cross  was  first  erected,  and  he,  being  seated  on  a 
bar  projecting  at  a  proper  height,*  was  then  fastened 
upon   it :    which   was   done  by  driving  strong   spikes 

*  SediUs  excessu.  Tertull.  adv.  nationes,  LII. 


Lect.XVIL]        CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  367 

through  the  pahns  of  the  hands,  the  arms  being 
stretched  out  on  the  transverse  beam,  and  by  a  spike 
driven  through  both  feet,  or  one  through  each  foot. 
Some  have  doubted  whether  or  not  our  Lord's  feel 
were  nailed  to  the  cross  ;  but  the  prophecy  is  explicit : 
"  They  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet."  (Ps.  xxii.  16.) 
The  limbs  were,  however,  most  probably,  bound  with 
cords,  as  else  the  weight  of  the  body  would  have  torn 
it  off  at  the  nails.  No  vital  part  being  touched,  the 
wretched  sufferer  would  hang  often  for  days,*  until  he 
expired  from  the  mingled  agonies  of  shame,  hunger, 
thirst,  and  pain.  The  anguish  of  crucifixion  (from 
which  we  derive  our  term,  excruciating)  must  have 
been,  physiologists  tell  us,  very  great.  Cicero,  in  his 
impeachment  of  Verres,  who  had  crucified  a  Roman 
citizen,  calls  it  "  the  most  cruel  and  terrible  "  of  all 
punishments,  which  "  no  man  should  see,  or  hear,  or 
even  think  of."  The  great  nails  were  driven  through 
the  parts  of  the  hands  and  feet  abounding  in  nerves 
and  tendons  ;  the  arms  being  stretched  back  and  apart 
made  the  slightest  motion  aggravate  the  pain ;  the  ac- 
tion of  the  air  on  the  open  wounds,  increased  it,  by 
inflammation,  yet  more  ;  and,  besides,  the  blood  was 
necessarily  forced  in  unnatural  quantity  on  the  brain 
and  the  stomach,  which  itself  would  cause  intolerable 
torment.  To  this  physical  torture  must  be  added, 
what  to  a  pure,  noble  spirit  would  be  far  more  poignant, 
a  consciousness  of  disgrace,  and  an  exposure  to  the 
jeers  and  taunts  of  an  idle,  brutal  mob,  always  gathered 
around  an  execution.  Plato,  in  a  passage  which  has 
ever  excited  great  astonishment  from  its  striking  re- 
semblance to   prophecy,  makes  crucifixion   to   be  the 

*  Often  till  the  third,  sometimes  even  the  seventh  day. 


368  CHRIST'S  SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.      [Lect.  XVII. 

utmost  possible  extreme  of  dishoiioi'  and  suffering  to 
wliicli  a  man  can  be  brought  by  the  malignant  persecu- 
tion of  men.  He  is  describing  a  just  person,  such  as 
philosophical  imagination  portrayed,  maintaining  his 
integrity  against  every  possible  disadvantage,  and  says  : 
"  This  man,  though  he  has  done  nothing  but  good, 
shall  be  accused  of  all  manner  of  wrong,  and,  though 
innocent,  pass  through  life  under  censure  as  the 
most  wicked  of  men,  yet  maintain  through  all  a  most 
unshaken  virtue,  until  he  shall  be  seized,  scourged,  tor- 
tui-ed,  bound,  have  his  eyes  put  out,  and  finally,  after 
having  endured  the  extreme  of  all  other  cruelties,  shall 
be  crucified."* 

Our  Lord's  head  was  not  covered,  neither  were  his 
eyes  put  out,  and  the  mercy  of  the  Jewish  law, 
(strangely  remembered  by  that  bigot  people  in  their 
savage  fury,)  which  commanded  that  "  strong  drink 
should  be  given  to  him  that  is  ready  to  perish,"  doubt- 
less, prompted  (perhaps  at  the  suggestion  of  some 
pitying  bystander,  though  the  soldiers  may  have  done 
it  insultingly,)  the  offering  of  a  sponge,  but  with  sour 
wine  and  bitter  infusions,  to  his  painful  lips  ;  for  there 
was  no  such  custom  among  either  Greeks  or  Romans. 
But,  in  all  other  respects,  he  suffered  crucifixion  as  it 
has  now  been  described  :  he  was  bound,  was  scourged, 
was  tormented  by  the  soldiers  ;  they  laid  the  heavj'" 
wood  on  his  blessed  shoulders,  and  then  nailed  him  on 
the  cross. 

In  the  addition  of  the  crown  of  thorns,  as  of  the 
purple  robe,  the  reed  placed  between  his  bound  hands, 
and  the  superscription  on  the  cross-piece  QMtibuhim^, 
where  the  Romans  usually  put  the  crime  of  the  sufferer, 

*  Plato,  Report,  II.  ■^  5. 


Lect.XVII.]      CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  369 

we  see  the  mockery  of  his  claim  to  be  King  of  the 
Jews,  —  the  only  thing  in  our  Lord's  conduct  which  the 
callous-hearted  Pilate  appears  to  have  cared  about,  it 
being  rebellion  against  the  Roman  authority.  We  are 
now  prepared  to  learn 

II.  The  reason  why  our  Lord  was  put  to  death  on 
the  cross. 

1.  It  was  death  on  a  tree.  The  sin  fatal  to  our  race 
was  committed  by  an  offence  against  a  tree  which  God 
had  commanded  should  not  be  touched.  It  was  also  a 
tree,  which,  in  the  arrangements  of  Paradise  resem- 
bling the  apocalyptical  description  of  heaven,  bore  the 
fruit  of  which  if  a  man  ate  he  should  live  forever. 
There  is  an  exquisite  fitness  in  our  Lord's  atoning 
for  sin  on  a  tree,  thus  tui'ning  the  occasion  of  a  de- 
served death  into  the  ever-verdant,  fruit-laden  source 
of  hfe  eternal.  As  we  look  back  to  that  disastrous 
scene  where  the  tempter  triumphed  in  the  sin  of  the 
first  Adam  that  brought  the  curse  on  us  all,  we  see  the 
second  Adam,  by  his  infinite  righteousness,  triumphing 
for  us  over  all  the  force  of  our  enemy,  achieving  our 
immortal  blessing. 

2.  It  being  requisite  that  our  Lord  should  die  under 
Jewish  as  well  as  Gentile  law,  there  was  yet  no  mode 
of  mortal  punishment  in  the  Mosaic  law  by  which  his 
suffering  woidd  have  been  consistent  with  prophecy ; 
for,  of  the  four  methods  known  to  them,  slaying  by  the 
sword  would  not  have  answered,  because  it  involved 
no  disgrace  ;  nor  stoning,  because  then  his  bones  would 
have  been  broken,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  foretold 
should  not  be  ;  nor  burning,  because  then  the  flesh  of 
the  great  Paschal  Lamb  would  not  have  remained  to 
be  the  food  of  his  people,  for  strangulation  would  have 

VOL.  I.  24 


370  CHEIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.     [Lect.  XVU. 

rendered  his  flesh  unclean.  It  was,  liowever,  necessary 
that  his  blood  should  be  shed,  because,  without  the  shed- 
ding of  blood,  there  is  no  remission  ;  that  he  should  be 
lifted  up  to  the  eyes  of  faith  as  the  serpent  was  lifted 
up  in  the  wilderness  ;  that  he  should  suffer  extreme 
agony,  because  his  pains  were  to  be  expressive  of  divine 
wrath  against  sin  ;  and,  above  all,  that  he  should  die  on 
a  tree,  because  that  was  the  only  mode  of  death  which 
God  had  specially  pronounced  accursed.  These  requi- 
sites could  be  found  only  in  crucifixion. 

3.  It,  more  than  any  other  imaginable  method,  is 
calculated  to  impress  us  with  the  religious  lessons  which 
the  death  of  the  Lamb  of  God  for  us  should  teach 
every  believer  on  his  name. 

a.  With  what  horror  should  we  regard  those  sins 
which  brought  such  shame,  and  anguish,  and  curse  on 
him,  our  devoted  Friend  and  patient  Surety ! 

5.  With  what  confidence  may  we  rely  vipon  the 
acceptance  of  his  atonement  for  his  people  when  it 
pleased  the  Father  so  to  bruise  him,  and  put  him  to 
grief ! 

c.  With  what  readiness  should  we  give  up  the  world 
when  duty  requires  it,  as  we  see  it  rejecting,  persecut- 
ing, and  maligning  our  divine  Master,  Example,  and 
Saviour !  There,  as  we  behold  him  crucified,  should 
we  see  "  the  Avorld  crucified  unto  us,"  and  so  "  crucify 
ourselves  unto  the  world." 

d.  With  what  patience  and  long-suffering  should  we 
bear  the  certain,  inevitable  trials  of  a  Christian  life,  so 
fully  and  painfully  set  forth  in  the  crucifixion  of  our 
elder  brother,  while  we  arm  ourselves  with  his  pa- 
tience, and  assure  ourselves  of  his  sympathizing  grace ! 
The  cross  is  the  badge  of  our  profession ;  we  all  must 


LECT.  XVII.]      CHRIST'S   SUFFERING  AND  CROSS.  371 

bear  it ;  but  it  is  the  sign  of  our  victory,  because  Christ 
in  the  midst  of  its  agonies,  overcame  for  us. 

e.  With  what  instant  earnestness  should  we  flee  to 
take  shelter  in  the  Saviour's  atonement,  while,  on  the 
one  hand,  we  see  that  God  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty,  and  the  fearfulness  of  the  punishment  which  is 
sure  to  follow  unrepented  sin ;  on  the  other,  see  how 
greatly  Christ  desired  the  salvation  of  our  souls  when 
he  opened  for  us  the  entrance  to  life  by  devoting  him- 
self to  the  cross,  with  all  its  shame,  and  curse,  and 
anguish ! 

O  Lord  Jesus,  fain  would  we  bear  the  cross  for  thee, 
as  thou  didst  bear  it  for  us  !  But  we  are  weak  and  sin- 
ful ;  how  shall  we  bear  what  thou  didst  faint  under  ? 
O  Saviour,  stamp  its  image  on  our  hearts  !  Crucify 
us  to  thyself !  Then  sliall  the  sorrow  be  easy,  and  the 
burden  be  light ! 


LECTURE  XVIIL 


CHEIST'S  DEATH  AND  BUEIAL. 


SIXTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
CHRIST'S   DEATH   AND   BURIAL. 

Quest.  XL.     Wliy  was  it  necessary  for  Christ  to  humble  himself,  even  unto 

death  ? 
Ans.    Because,  with  respect  to  the  justice  and  truth  of  God,  satisfaction  for 
our  sins  could  not  be  made  otherwise  than  by  the  death  of  the  Son  of 

God. 
Quest.  XLI.     Why  was  he  ako  buried  f 
Ans.     Therebj'  to  prove  that  he  was  reall}'  dead. 
Quest.  XLII.     Since,  then,  Clirisi  died  for  us,  why  must  we  also  die  ? 
Ans.     Our  death  is  not  a  satisfaction  for  our  sins ;  but  only  an  abolishing 

of  sin  and  a  passage  to  eternal  life. 
Quest.  XLIII.      What  further  benefit  do  we  receive  from  the  sacrifice  of 

Clirist  on  the  cross  f 
Ans.     That,  by  virtue  thereof,  our  old  man  is  crucified,  dead,  and  buried 

with  him,  that  so  the  corrupt  inclinations  of  the  flesh  may  no  more 

reign  in  us ;  hut  that  we  may  ofter  ourselves  unto  him  a  sacrifice  of 

thanksgiving. 
Quest.  XLIV.     Why  is  there  added:  He  descended  into  hell  ? 
Ans.     That,  in  my  greatest  temptations,  I    may  be    assured   and  wholly 

comfort  myself  in  this,  that  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  his  inexpressible 

anguish,  pains,  and  hellish  agonies,  in  which  he  was  plunged  during 

all  his  sufferings,  but  especially  on  the  cross,  hath  delivered  me  from 

the  anguish  and  torments  of  hell. 


0 


UR  lesson  for  the  last  Lord's  Day  led  us  to  consider 
carefully,  and,  as  we  trust,  not  without  profit,  the 
sufferings  of  our  Lord,  especially  his  condemnation 
under  Pontius  Pilate,  and  his  bitter  anguish  on  the 
cross.  To-day  we  are  called  to  behold  the  great  Suf- 
ferer dead,  and  not  only  dead,  but  buried. 

The  doctrine  of  his  death  could  not  be  separated 
from  an  understanding  of  his  crucifixion,  which  was  the 


376  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.      [Lect.  XVIII. 

mode  of  it,  and,  indeed,  has  been  fundamental  to  all 
that  we  have  hitherto  been  taught  respecting  the  way 
of  salvation ;  therefore,  the  Catechism  simply  reiterates 
the  main  truth  under  the  40th  Question.  With  like 
brevity,  the  purpose  of  his  burial  is  stated  to  be  proof 
that  his  death  was  really  accomplished  (41st)  ;  and  an 
inquiry  as  to  the  reason  why  we  must  die,  notwith- 
standing his  dying  for  us,  is  met  by  showing  what  the 
death  of  the  Christian  has  become,  through  the  pro- 
pitiation of  Christ  (42d).  Then  follows  a  recital  of 
some  further  benefits,  or,  rather,  of  some  not  as  particu- 
larly dwelt  upon  before,  derived  from  the  cross  (3d)  ; 
after  which  is  set  forth  the  fulness  of  comfort  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  asserted  of  our  Lord  by  the  Creed, 
that  he  descended  into  hell. 

There  are  so  many  interesting  questions  connected 
with  the  last  point,  that  it  requires  a  separate  discourse  ; 
and  we  shall  postpone  its  formal  treatment,  using  it, 
however,  as  far  as  needed  in  our  present  study.  The 
other  matter  of  the  lesson  may  be  conveniently  arranged 
under  three  heads  :  — 

FiKST :  The  necessity  for  our  Lord^s  humiliation  even 
unto  death. 

Secondly  :  His  burial,  and  the  reaso7isfor  it. 

Thirdly:  The  benefits  which  we  receive  from  his 
death  and  burial. 

First  :  The  necessity  for  our  Lord's  humiliation  even 
unto  death. 

The  infinite  merit  of  our  Lord's  vicarious  sufferings 
having  been  already  shown,  the  question  now  is  :  Why 
was  it  requisite  that  he  should  actually  die  ?  Were  not 
those  sorrows  of  his  that  wrung  his  heart  all  his  life 
long,  his  terrible  agony  in  the  garden,  his  anguish  of 


Lect.  XVIII.]      CHRIST'S   DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  377 

both  body  and  soul  on  the  cross,  enough  to  testify  the 
divine  wrath  against  us  without  this  extreme  humiha- 
tion  ?     If  Enoch  and  Ehjah   were  taken  into  heaven 
without  having  passed  through  the  mortal  agony,  why 
might  not  the  Father  have  assumed  his   well-beloved 
Son  to  his  glory  from  the  cross,  in  the  sight  of  his  ene- 
mies, as  he  did  afterward  from  Bethany,  from  the  midst 
of  his  adoring  disciples  ?      Would  not  the  arrest  of  his 
passion  by  such  majesty  have  vindicated  the  excellence 
of  his  atonement  more  than  even  his  resurrection  after 
the   disgraces   of    the  tomb?      My  brethren,  if  such 
thoughts  arise  in   our  minds,  it  is  because   we  forget 
the  penalty  which    the    Mediator    undertook    to   pay 
on  behalf  of  his  people.     The  sentence  was  explicit : 
"  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die ; "  "  Without  the 
shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission."     The  life  of 
the  sinner  was  forfeited  ;  and,  therefore,  the  life  of  the 
substitute  was  required.      He  had  covenanted  to  die 
that  they  might  live.      We  must  believe  that  nothing 
less,  nothing  short  of  this,   could  have  answered  the 
broken,  dishonored  law.     All  the  sacrifices  in  which 
the    victims    were    slain    outright,    all    the    prophecies 
which  declared  that  he  should  pour  out  his  soul  unto 
death,  all  his  own  testimonies  respecting  the  decease 
which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,  all  the  sub- 
sequent teachings  of  his  apostles,  show  that  his  obe- 
dience was  not  complete  until  death,  nor  his  expiation 
but  in  death.     All  his  antecedent  sorrows  and  pains  and 
tortures  were  but  precursors  of  his  death :  death  was 
in  them  all,  but  not  complete  until,  as  in  our  death,  his 
spirit  was  separated  from  his  body,  leaving  the  clay  life- 
less, and  prone  to  mingle  with  the  dust  out  of  which  it 
was  taken.     It  was  no  seeming  death,  no  deep  trance 


3Y8  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.      [Lect.  XVIII 

nor  syncope  simulating  death,  from  which  he  recovered 
on  the  third  day ;  but  an  entire  dissolution,  so  that  he 
ceased  to  live  until  at  his  resurrection  he  began  to  live 
again.  "  Father,"  said  he,  in  the  midst  of  the  great 
darkness,  as  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain, 
"  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit !  and,  having 
said  thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost,"  or,  as  it  is  in  the 
Greek,  he  expired :  the  breath  went  utterly  out  of  his 
torn,  exhausted  frame ;  his  body  yet  hung  on  the  cruel 
nails,  but  his  anguish  was  over ;  his  blessed  heart  was 
^ill,  his  holy  head  drooped,  his  gentle  eyes  were  closed ; 
he  had  lived  our  life  to  its  last  pang ;  his  soul  had  gone 
up  to  his  Father ;  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth  Avas  dead. 

The  death-sentence  passed  upon  man  included  far 
more  than  the  mere  mortality  of  the  body :  death  was 
a  name  for  the  wi'ath  of  God  upon  body  and  soul ; 
wrath  eternal,  because  never  could  man  have  suffered 
sufficiently  to  expiate  his  sin,  and,  without  the  renewing 
grace  of  God,  he  would  be  continually  incurring  fresh 
condemnation  by  fresh  offence :  so  that  death  implies 
all  the  torments  of  hell,  as  well  as  the  penal  effects  of 
sin  in  this  world ;  but  the  death  which  is  the  end  of 
our  course  here,  was  a  component,  essential  part  of  the 
death-punishment,  besides  being  a  most  striking  emblem 
and  foreshadowing;  of  the  wrath  which  follows  it.  Our 
blessed  Lord  did  suffer  the  wrath  of  God  in  his  spirit, 
as  well  as  his  body :  the  very  wrath  which  makes  the 
hell  of  the  wicked.  "  The  sorrows  of  death  com- 
passed "  him  ;  "  the  pains  of  hell  gat  hold  upon  "  him  ; 
or,  as  the  Catechism  says  (44th),  he  was  in  inexpressi- 
ble anguish,  pains,  and  hellish  agonies,  during  all  his 
sufferings,  but  especially  on  the  cross  :  as  far  as  a  pure, 
sinless  spirit  can  suffer  hell,  he  suffered  it ;  but,  so  com- 


Lect.  XVIIL]       CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  379 

pletely  did  he  expiate  our  guilt,  so  fully  satisfy  divine 
justice,  so  utterly  exhaust  death  by  his  sufferings,  that 
he  needed  not  to  pass,  after  the  article  of  dissolution, 
into  the  torments  which  await  the  wicked  beyond  this 
life.  As  he  bowed  his  head  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  he 
said  :  "  It  is  finished  !  "  because,  in  that  last  submission, 
he  bore  the  last  pang  of  the  curse,  he  drank  the  last 
drop  in  the  cup  of  wrath,  he  felt  the  last  stroke  of  the 
avenger,  and  the  Father,  in  receiving  his  soul,  accepted 
his  atonement.  Then  was  it  apparent  to  the  universe 
of  observing  intelligence  that  he  died  for  us,  as  at  his 
resurrection  it  was  apparent  that  his  death  was  infinite- 
ly sufficient  for  our  eternal  life.  Hence  we,  after  the 
example  of  Scripture,  testify  our  belief  in  the  redemp- 
tion, by  our  confession  of  Christ's  death,  and,  obeying 
his  own  command,  celebrate  his  death  by  a  sacrament 
which  symbolizes  the  breaking  of  his  body  and  the 
shedding  of  his  blood. 

O  beloved  Christians,  what  strength  and  sweetness 
there  is  in  this  article  of  our  faith  !  If  Christ  walked 
never  so  closely  with  us  during  all  our  previous  temp- 
tations and  sorrows,  but  turned  away  when  the  last 
enemy  approached,  shaking  his  fearful  dart,  how  should 
we  shrink  back  in  terror,  and  cry,  in  his  own  "  exceed- 
ing bitter  cry,"  "  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?  "  But  now  that  we  have  seen  him  dead,  we  know 
that  he  will  not  leave  nor  forsake  us,  but  will  be  our 
guide  even  unto  death ;  we  mark  the  prints  of  his 
bleeding  feet  down  every  step  into  the  valley  dark  as 
darkness  itself,  and  know  that  he  will  go  with  us 
through  the  mysteiy.  Then  we  fear  no  evil,  because 
his  rod  and  his  staff  shall  comfort  us. 

Secondly  :  His  burial,  and  the  reasons  for  it. 


380  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND   BURIAL.      [Lect.  XVIII. 

41st.    Why  was  he  also  buried  f 

Ans.     Thereby  to  prove  that  he  was  really  dead. 

1.  This  is  a  very  important  reason  ;  for,  on  the  reali- 
ty of  his  death  depends  the  perfection  of  his  sacrifice, 
and  the  fact  of  his  resurrection  ;  and,  consequently,  the 
truth  of  all  Christianity.  It  was  at  the  third  hour 
(nine  o'clock  in  the  morning)  that  our  Lord  was  fixed 
on  the  cross,  and  about  the  ninth  hour  (three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon)  that  he  expired.  Many  lived  on  the 
cross  for  days  before  they  died ;  and  it  w^ould  seem  that 
both  the  malefactors  executed  with  him  were  alive 
toward  the  close  of  the  day,  for  the  soldiers  brake  their 
legs  to  kill  them  outright ;  but  in  six  hours  his  suffer- 
ings were  over,  his  spiritual  agonies  hastening  the  catas- 
trophe. The  next  day  was  a  Sabbath,  a  high  solemni- 
ty, —  one  of  the  three  Sabbaths  of  holy  convocation,  and 
immediately  previous  to  the  wave-offering  (Lev.  xxiii. 
10,  11)  ;  so  that  the  Jews,  whose  law  forbade  them  to 
let  any  one  remain  on  a  tree  over  any  sunset,  were 
specially  anxious  that  this  notable  Sabbath  should  not 
be  defiled,  and  besought  Pilate  that  an  immediate  end 
should  be  put  to  the  sufferers.  Strange  bigotry,  that 
could  tolerate  such  malignant  injustice  as  the  crucifix- 
ion of  an  innocent  one  like  Jesus,  yet  stickle  at  a  form ! 
Yet  such  is  formality  in  religion  :  its  scrupulosity  in 
outward  rules  survives  the  spirit  of  piety.  Pilate,  easy 
to  comply  when  it  cost  him  nothing,  commands  the  sol- 
diers, not  without  witnesses  from  among  the  Jews,  to 
fulfil  their  wish :  but  Jesus  is  so  manifestly  dead,  that 
neither  soldiers  nor  Jews  doubt  it;  yet,  to  make  all 
sure  for  us  as  well  as  for  them,  one  of  the  Romans 
thrusts  a  spear  into  his  side.  The  spear  reaches  his 
heart,  or,  at  the  least,  gives  a  mortal  wound  ;  for  out  of 


Lect.  XVIII.]      CHRIST'S   DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  381 

the  fissure  flows  not  only  "  blood,"  but  what  the  evan- 
gelist calls  "  water,"  or  the  serous  fluid  found  within 
the  sac  encasing  the  heart  Qpericardium') ;  though  it  is 
possible  that  it  was  from  the  eff'usion  which  great  agony 
often  sends  into  the  'plcura  :  but,  in  either  case,  the  proof 
is  clear  that  death  had  actually  occurred.  If  there  had 
been  the  slightest  chance  for  denial,  the  Jews,  after  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord,  would  not  have  spared  it ; 
but,  though  they  bribed  the  soldiers  to  say  that  his  dis- 
ciples had  stolen  his  body  in  the  night,  they  did  not 
pretend  to  say  he  had  not  been  really  dead. 

Had  not  divine  Providence  prevented  it,  the  sacred 
body  would  have  been  roughly  buried  in  the  place  ap- 
pointed for  executed  malefactors,  near  the  scene  of  the 
crucifixion ;  but,  now  that  he  had  "  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death,"  he  is  spared  from  farther  indignities.  Jo- 
seph of  Arimathea,  of  whom  we  know  little  more  than 
that  he  was  "  a  rich  man,"  a  Pharisee,  "  an  honorable 
counsellor,  which  also  waited  for  the  kingdom  of  God," 
"  a  good  man  and  a  just,"  who  "  had  not  consented  "  to 
the  decree  against  Christ,  but  was  "  his  disciple,  though 
secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,"  —  remorseful  at  having 
forsaken  his  Master,  and  impressed  by  the  awful  mira- 
cles attending  his  death,  now  goes  "boldly"  to  Pilate 
and  asks  "  that  he  might  take  away  the  body  of  Jesus  ;  " 
and  Pilate,  willing  to  please  a  man  of  his  rank,  and  all 
the  while  persuaded  that  our  Lord  had  suffered  unjust- 
ly, gives  him  leave.  Joseph  had  a  new  tomb  prepared 
for  himself,  hewn,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  rich  Jews, 
out  of  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  a  garden ;  and  there  he 
determined  to  lay  the  precious  remains.  But  Nicode- 
mus,  his  brother  counsellor,  and  like  him  in  concealed 
discipleship  (for  it  was  the  same  that  came  to  Jesus  by 


382  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.      [Lect-XVIH. 

night),  now  claims  a  part  in  the  sad  offices.  The  Jews, 
who  abhorred  burning,  and  the  disembowelHng  neces- 
sary for  the  embalmment  common  among  Eastern  peo- 
ple, or  any  other  mode  of  treating  the  bodies  of  their 
dead  than  burial,  —  yet  craved  the  solace  of  fragrant 
obsequies,  and  were  accustomed  to  wrap  them  Avith 
fine  linen  in  spices,  which  were  sometimes  burned  in 
great  quantities.  So,  as  Joseph  had  the  honor  of  giv- 
ing the  tomb,  Nicodemus  brings  the  perfumes,  not 
less  than  a  hundred-pound  weight  of  myrrh  and  aloes, 
—  a  costly,  even  magnificent  provision,  —  such  as 
would  have  been  made  for  a  person  of  highest  rank  ; 
and  together,  the  true-hearted  Marys  standing  by 
if  not  assisting  them,  they  wind  the  body  in  linen 
cloths  with  the  spices,  hoping  to  do  it  farther  honor 
when  the  Sabbath  had  passed  by.  So  they  laid  him  in 
the  rocky  tomb,  causing  its  door  to  be  closed  by  a  great 
stone  rolled  into  its  mouth  ;  and  there  in  a  garden  the 
second  Adam  rested  in  death,  as  in  a  garden  death  had 
come  upon  the  first.  But  the  wretched,  persecuting 
Sanhedrim,  though  they  could  not  oppose  Pilate  in  his 
grant  of  Joseph's  request,  are  not  satisfied  ;  and  the  next 
day  demand  of  the  Procurator  that  the  sepulchre  should 
be  made  sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  his  disciples  might 
come  and  steal  the  body,  and  so  claim  that  Christ's  own 
prophecy  of  rising  on  the  third  day  was  fulfilled.  Pi- 
late, out  of  patience  with  their  wicked  pertinacity,  tells 
them  to  use  their  own  watch-guard,  which  was  a  body 
of  sixty  soldiers  assigned  to  guard  the  temple,  and 
make  as  sure  as  they  can.  They,  therefore,  seal  the 
stone,  so  that  any  movement  of  it  might  be  detected, 
and  set  sentinels  to  prevent  any  entrance.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  believe  as  some  do  (Theophylact  and  oth- 


Lect.  XVIII.]      CHKIST'S   DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  383 

ers)  that  the  whole  of  the  temple  guard  were  put  to 
the  service ;  but  the  Jews  had  it  in  their  power  to  em- 
ploy all  that  was  sufficient,  and  doubtless  did.  How 
did  God,  through  their  own  act  and  intention  to  frus- 
trate the  truth  of  Jesus,  thus  provide  for  their  discom- 
fiture and  our  assurance  ! 

The  death  of  the  Saviour  is  even  yet  more  certain. 
How  could  he,  even  if  his  wounds  were  not  mortal, 
have  survived  the  enrolment  of  his  head  and  person  so 
closely  ?  —  or  his  confinement  within  the  rock-bound  cell 
whose  entrance  was  so  entirely  sealed  ?  Or  how  could 
his  terror-stricken  friends,  against  all  these  precautions, 
have  abstracted  the  mangled  body,  and  restored  him  to 
the  full,  vigorous  life  in  which  he  appeared  on  the  day 
of  his  resurrection  ? 

2.  Neither,  without  his  burial,  would  all  the  prophe- 
cies respecting  his  work  for  us  have  been  fulfilled. 
Until  then,  though  he  had  had  his  place  with  the 
wicked,  he  had  rest  with  the  rich  in  his  death ;  * 
neither  was  there  opportunity  for  the  Father  to  ransom 
his  chosen  from  the  power  of  the  grave,  and  over  the 
grave  give  him  the  victory.  These  prophecies  are, 
however,  so  connected  with  what  has  been  already 
said,  and  will  be  said  hereafter,  that  we  may  refrain 
from  farther  reference  to  them  now. 

3.  But  what  comfort  and  hope  is  offered  to  our 
hearts  as  we  linger  with  the  weeping  women  before  the 
door  of  the  Saviour's  tomb  !  We  need  not  be  pilgrims 
to  the  Holy  Land  for  this  ;  our  faith  in  the  blessed 
Evangelists  brings  us  to  the  scene.  How  calmly,  how 
quietly,  he  rests  within  !     They  have  done  unto  him 

*  A  grave  was  appointed  for  him  with  the  wicked,  but  with  the  rich  man 
wan  his  tomb  (high  place).  —  Is.  liii.  9. 


384  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.     [Lect.  XVHI. 

whatsoever  they  listed,  hut  they  cannot  reach  him  now 
with  their  savage  cries,  and  brutal  insults,  and  merci- 
less tortures.  They  have  driven  him  out  of  the  world 
which  he  made  for  them,  so  fair  and  beautiful ;  out  of 
his  own  Jerusalem,  which  he  had  loved  so  well,  and 
wept  over  with  so  fond  a  pity ;  out  of  the  mortal  life 
which  he  had  made  so  lovely  by  his  innocence,  and  so 
beneficent  by  his  miracles,  and  so  eloquent  of  truth  by 
his  teachings,  and  so  full  of  promise  to  the  sorrowful 
by  his  tears,  and  to  the  penitent  by  his  prayers.  Oh, 
what  a  darkness  was  that  when  the  sun  hid  his  face 
from  the  murder  of  the  Holy  One,  and  the  convulsed 
earth  quaked  in  sympathy  with  her  Maker  !  What  a 
nififht  was  that  when  the  stars  looked  down  on  the 
world,  whose  Saviour  and  Lord  lay  dead  and  buried. 
Think  of  the  poor  disciples,  shrunk  into  hiding-places 
like  timorous  sheep  whose  shepherd  is  slain,  and  of  the 
broken-hearted  women,  loving  without  hope,  but  faithful 
in  their  despair  !  Yet  the  sufferer  is  at  rest.  He 
sleeps.  His  labors  are  done,  his  pains  are  past,  his 
enemies  have  accomplished  their  worst ;  his  last  cry 
was  the  escape  of  his  spirit,  and  his  dear,  holy,  mangled 
flesh  awaits  in  peace  a  speedy  awakening  far  beyond 
sorrow  and  ignominy,  within  the  glory  of  his  better 
world,  where  all  the  heavenly  host  will  acclaim  him  an 
infinite  homage,  because  the  signatures  of  the  cross 
attest  him  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  Odors,  fragrant 
and  rich,  fill  the  air,  as  the  spices  breathe  their  honors 
around  him,  and  the  flowers  of  the  garden  are  redolent 
through  the  dews.  All  is  as  sweet  as  it  is  calm.  O 
faithful  Master,  thanks  be  to  thee,  that  thou  didst  not 
refuse  to  lie  down  in  the  grave  !  The  grave  is  gloomy 
and  cold  and  sad,  —  the  disgrace  of  our  humanity,  the 


lECT.  XVIII.]      CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  385 

hiding-place  of  our  shame.  Disguise  it  as  we  may, 
with  marbles  and  epitaphs,  and  graceful  trees,  and  sum- 
mer-blooms, and  evergreens,  till  it  looks  like  a  palace- 
garden,  it  is  yet  the  place  of  silence,  darkness,  and 
corruption ;  nature  revolts  fi'om  the  thought,  nor  can 
philosophy  cure  us  of  the  shudder,  for  reason  justi- 
fies it :  — 

"  To  He  in  cold  obstruction  and  to  rot, 
This  sensible,  warm  motion  to  become 

A  kneaded  clod  — 

't  is  too  horrible  !  " 

But  oh,  how  sad  it  is  when  we  are  forced  to  carry 
there  and  put  deep  within  its  shades,  away  from  our 
touch,  and  sight,  and  care,  the  dear  forms  in  which  the 
beloved  of  our  hearts,  —  the  good,  the  kind,  the  true, 
have  lived  but  live  no  longer  ;  the  pleasant  faces 
through  which  their  souls  shone  on  us,  the  bosoms  that 
yearned  for  us,  the  hands  that  ministered  to  our  com- 
fort, the  limbs  active  in  serving  our  faintest  wish,  —  to 
lie  out  amidst  loathsome  damps,  under  the  beatings  of 
the  storm,  and  the  winter's  snows,  because  they  are 
dust  and  to  dust  they  must  return  !  Yet,  how  changed 
is  the  sepulchre  since  we  have  followed  in  his  funeral, 
and  seen  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay !  He  is  not 
there  now,  —  he  is  risen ;  but  he  has  been  there  ;  the 
fragrance  yet  fills  the  tomb  ;  the  garden  still  blossoms 
around  it :  as,  in  the  beginning,  he,  by  his  own  rest, 
made  the  Sabbath  a  rest  for  our  souls,  so  has  he,  by  his 
own  burial,  made  the  grave  a  rest  for  the  bodies  of  his 
people.  There  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  them  ; 
there  they  have  a  refuge  from  temptation,  from  tears 
and  sin  ;  there  the  High  Priest  of  our  profession  has 

set  a  company  of  the  guard  from  the  heavenly  temple 
VOL.  I.  25 


386  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.        [Lect.  XVIII. 

to  watch  their  sleeping  dust  —  his  own  seal  is  on  the 
door  —  and  in  his  own  time,  when  all  the  mortality, 
and  dishonor,  and  corruption,  and  weakness,  have 
crumbled  away,  will  he  roll  back  the  stone  from  its 
mouth,  and  tliey  shall  come  forth  immortal,  glorious, 
incorruptible,  and  full  of  power,  to  enter  upon  the  king- 
dom where  he  is  now  gone  to  prepare  places  for  them. 
Oh  !  now  we  know  what  our  church  means  when  it 
bids  us  say  that,  though  Christ  has  died  for  our  sins,  we 
must  also  die.  Death  and  the  grave  are  no  longer  the 
penalty  and  the  disgrace  of  our  nature.  Christ  hath 
taken  out  the  sting  from  death,  the  victory  he  has 
wrested  from  the  grave  ;  and  now  death  to  all  who 
believe  is  the  abolishing  of  sin,  the  grave  a  passage  to 
eternal  life.  The  pious  dead  are  not  lost :  they  only 
sleep  in  Jesus,  — a  blessed  sleep  from  which  he  is  coming 
to  awake  them.  He  has  taken  up  their  spirits  now  to  the 
Father  who  took  up  his  ;  and  he  will  once  more  descend 
in  the  latter  day  to  the  earth,  that  he  may  restore  their 
full  humanity  to  paradise,  —  far  more  lovely  than  that 
the  tempter  entered,  where  no  enemy  nor  ill  can  reach 
them  forever.  O  spirit  of  the  Holy  One,  who  didst 
anoint  Christ  with  grace  for  his  death  and  burial,  pre- 
pare us  for  ours,  that  we  may  follow  him  with  the 
countless  train  of  those  who,  through  faith  and  pa- 
tience, inherit  the  promises  !  Then  shall  death  be  to  us 
a  gain  unspeakable,  and  the  grave  a  welcome  rest. 
We  need  rest,  O  Lord,  for  we  are  often  weary ;  and,  if 
it  please  thee,  we  would  not  bear  our  burden  long. 

"  We  -would  not  live  alvvay,  thus  fettered  by  sin, 
Temptation  withont,  and  corruption  -within  ; 
Where  the  rapture  of  pardon  is  mingled  -with  fears, 
And  the  cup  of  thanksgiving  with  penitent  tears. 


Lect.  XVIIl.]       CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  387 

We  would  not  live  alway  —  no,  welcome  the  tomb ; 
Since  Jesus  hath  lain  there  we  dread  not  its  gloom ; 
There  sweet  be  our  rest,  till  he  bid  us  arise, 
To  hail  him  in  triumph  descending  the  skies." 

But  we  had  wellnigh  anticipated  what  we  proposed 
to  treat  of  — 

Thirdly:  The  benefits  we  receive  from  Chrisfs  death 
and  burial. 

The  Catechism  says  "  further  benefits,"  because  it 
has  ah'eadj  made  us  dwell  largely  on  the  benefits  of 
Christ's  sacrifice  ;  but  we  shall  briefly  recapitulate,  and 
add  to  these  stated  in  the  present  answer  (43d),  those 
given  in  the  44th,  as  taught  in  our  Lord's  descent  to 
hell. 

1.  Christ  as  our  infinite  surety  has  borne  the  wrath 
of  God  for  all  who  believe  on  his  name.  When  the 
Father  accepted  the  substitute,  he  did  it  under  covenant 
to  release  those  whom  Jesus  represented.  He  took  the 
guilt  of  their  sins  from  them  in  the  very  act  by  which 
he  laid  it  on  the  sinless  elder  brother.  So,  when  he 
paid  the  penalty,  they  paid  it ;  when  he  was  stricken  of 
God  it  was  with  their  stripes ;  when  he  was  crucified 
they  were  crucified  with  him ;  when  he  died  they  died 
in  him ;  when  he  was  buried  he  sanctified  the  grave  for 
them  ;  and  so,  also,  when  the  Father  received  his 
spirit,  and  raised  him  from  the  dead,  in  sure  token  that 
justice  was  satisfied  and  heaven  opened  for  the  atoner, 
the  Father  accepted  them,  adopted  them  as  his  sons 
and  daughters,  assured  them  of  deliverance  from  eternal 
death,  set  open  wide  the  gate  of  heaven  for  their  spirits 
when  they  leave  the  body,  and  for  their  bodies  after  the 
purification  of  the  grave  which  Christ  has  made  fra- 
grant with  holy  peace.     How  certain,  then,  is  the  salva- 


388  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.       [Lect.  XVIII. 

tion  of  the  Christian,  since  justice  and  mercy  with 
interlinking  arms  stand  pleading  for  him  before  the 
throne  on  which  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  ! 

2.  The  sympathy  of  our  Lord  with  his  people  is 
entire.  "  In  that  he  himself  hath  suffered,  being 
tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted." 
He  has  not  only  the  power  but  the  knowledge  from 
experience  to  apply  the  power  ;  and  as,  in  the  language 
of  the  New  Testament,  temptation  and  trial  are 
synonymous,  one  word  in  the  original  representing 
both,  his  sympathizing  grace  covers  all  the  experience 
of  the  Christian ;  for  there  is  no  form  of  trial  through 
which  the  Christian  can  be  made  to  pass  that  he  did 
not  pass  through  on  his  way  to  victory  and  rest. 

All  that  we  ordinarily  call  temptations,  —  the  motives, 
arguments,  and  provocations  to  sin,  to  which  we  are 
exposed  during  our  mortal  life  in  this  world,  he  knew ; 
we  have  a  notable  example  of  this  in  the  conflict  he 
had  with  the  devil  immediately  after  his  unction  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  All  that  we  ordinarily  call  trials,  —  our 
sicknesses,  our  pains,  our  persecutions,  our  wrongs  from 
the  false  judgments,  and  slanders,  and  oppositions  of 
men,  our  sorrows  for  those  we  love  in  their  sicknesses, 
md  deaths  and  burials,  —  we  know  that  he  knew  from 
the  record  of  the  evangelical  witnesses. 

So  far  as  his  innocent  spirit  could  feel  the  anguish 
and  self-abhorrence  and  shame  of  sin,  he  knew  what 
the  penitent  suffers  when,  under  the  thunderings  of  the 
law,  he  trembles  and  avows  his  guilt ;  for  all  his  Israel's 
sins  were  gathered  around  his  soul,  compassing  his 
spirit  about,  hiding  his  Father's  face  from  him,  causing 
him  to  shrink  with  horror  from  the  vile  contact,  and 


Lect.  XVIII.]       CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.  389 

pressing  on  his  mediatorial  conscience  the  fact  that  the 
punishment  he  bore  was  just.  Nay,  those  very  doubts 
which  oftentimes  assail  the  believer's  mind,  causing  him 
to  shrink  from  duty,  to  fear  the  future  set  before  him, 
and  even  to  think  that  God  has  forsaken  him,  assaulted 
the  humanity  of  Jesus.  "  Now,"  saith  he,  at  one  time, 
"  is  my  soul  troubled,  and  what  shall  I  say  ?  Father, 
save  me  from  this  hour."  What  else  was  that  agony 
in  the  garden,  when  he  prayed  :  "  Father,  if  it  be  pos- 
sible let  this  cup  pass  from  me  !  "  and  "  there  appeared 
an  angel  unto  him  from  heaven  strengthening  him  ?" 
And  how  else  can  we  understand  that  bitter  cry  out 
of  the  thick  darkness,  "  My  God  !  my  God  !  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  ?  "  There  could  not  be  a  single  form 
of  pain,  or  anguish  of  body  or  soul,  that  follows  sin,  of 
which  the  Redeemer,  who  took  the  cup  filled  with  our 
deserts,  did  not  taste  ;  and  this  is  what  the  Catechism 
declares  when  it  says  (44th),  that  "our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  during  all  his  sufferings,  but  especially  on  the 
cross,  was  plunged  in  inexpressible  anguish,  pains,  ter- 
rors and  hellish  agonies,"  that  he  might  deliver  us  from 
the  anguish  and  torments  of  hell. 

Here  then,  behever,  —  tempted,  afflicted,  weak  and 
trembling,  is  there  full  comfort  for  you.  The  Master 
knows  your  trials  and  your  infirmity.  Only  imitate 
his  steadfastness,  —  be  faithful  to  him  as  he  was  to  you  ; 
and  he  who  received  a  gift  of  strength  from  on  high  to 
go  through  his  passion,  will  send  you  strength  accord- 
ing as  your  day. 

3.  For  there  is  here  a  promise  of  sanctification.  He 
crucified  our  old  nature  when  the  body  he  took  on  him, 
out  of  the  flesh  and   blood  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was 


390  CHRIST'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL.        [Lect.  XVIII 

crucified.  There  in  his  death,  the  tyrannous  power  of 
sin,  by  which  the  devil  holds  captive  the  impenitent, 
was  broken  from  his  people  ;  and  in  his  grave  he  finally 
buried  the  mortal  flesh  that  he  might  raise  it  in  new- 
ness of  life,  holy  and  eternal.  Thus  has  he  promised 
to  quicken  from  their  death  in  trespasses  and  sins,  all 
who  by  faith  are  crucified  wdth  him,  with  him  die,  and 
with  him  are  buried.  As  he  was  raised  up  to  heaven, 
so  shall  they,  even  in  this  life,  be  raised  up  to  sit  with 
him  in  heavenly  places :  privileges  so  like  heaven,  that 
the  apostle  can  give  them  no  less  an  epithet  than 
"  heavenly."  Yet,  this  grace  is  only  vouchsafed  to 
those  who,  relying  on  the  working  of  God  in  them, 
work  out  with  fear  and  tremblino;  their  own  salvation. 
But,  believer,  what  a  motive  as  well  as  encouragement 
is  here  ?  What  so  separates  a  man  from  the  world  as 
death  and  burial  ?  Yet  so,  by  our  profession  of  repre- 
sentation in  Christ,  do  we  profess  to  have  died  with  the 
world  of  sin,  and  to  have  put  off  our  old  man  with  its 
affections  and  lusts.  We  are  not  dead  with  him,  if  we 
be  not  buried  with  him.  We  have  not  been  buried 
with  him,  if  we  be  not  risen  with  him.  Our  true  life, 
our  Christian  life,  now  lies  on  the  other  side  of  the 
grave  as  to  its  affections  and  aims  and  delights.  "  If 
ye,  then,  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which 
are  above."  All  our  motives  and  rules  must  be  brought 
by  us  from  heaven,  "  into  which  the  Forerunner  has 
for  us  entered."  "  Truly,"  says  an  apostle,  "  our  con- 
versation is  in  heaven."  Yes,  beloved  brethren,  this  is 
the  grace  into  which  we  profess  to  stand,  who  profess 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  to  have  received  the  atonement. 
We  cannot  go  back  to  the  world  except  we  trampla 


Lect.XVIII.]       CHRIST'S  DEATH   AND  BURIAL.  391 

over  the  grace  of  Jesus,  and  reject  the  arguments  of 

his  cross. 

O  Son  of  the  Highest,  remember  us  on  thy  throne  ! 
Thou  hast  vanquished  sin  for  us  in  the  atonement  of 
thy  death  ;  now  vanquish  sin  in  us  by  the  intercession 
ofthyKfe! 


LECTURE  XIX. 


THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELI 


SIXTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   DESCENT   INTO   HELL. 

"He  descended  into  hell." 

npHIS  article  of  our  creed,  which,  because  of  its  pecul- 
-*-  iar  interest,  requires  a  closer  study  than  we  could 
give  it  when  considering,  on  a  late  occasion,  the  lesson 
for  the  Sixteenth  Lord's  Day,  should  be  approached 
with  cautious  modesty,  as  it  has  been  so  disputed  over 
by  theologians  of  the  highest  rank,  that  an  attempt  to 
determine  the  truth  among  their  widely  different  views 
would  be  presumptuous,  if  we  had  not  a  "  more  sure 
word  of  prophecy."  Rejecting,  as  we  do,  the  prepos- 
terous notion  which  the  papists  have  adopted  from  the 
good  but  fanciful  Bishop  of  Milan  (St.  Ambrose),  — 
all  the  fathers  before  him  saying  nothing  of  the  kind,  — 
that  the  creed  was  composed  by  the  inspired  apostles,  we 
cannot  receive  any  dogma  it  contains  on  less  authority 
than  divine  Scripture  ;  yet,  since  we  have  adopted  it  as 
the  symbol  of  our  catholic,  evangelical  belief,  we  must 
understand  its  articles  "  according  to  the  proportion  (or 
rather  analogy)  *  of  faith,"  as  the  apostle  calls  the 
consistency  of  Christian  doctrine. 

But,  First  :  it  should  be  noted  that  the  descent  into 
hell  is  not  found  as  a  separate,  distinct  article  of  the  ear- 
lier creeds.  In  the  Nicene  (A.  D.  325)  we  read : 
"  He  suffered,  and  was  buried,  and  the  third  day  he  rose 
again," — the  descent  into  hell  not  being  inserted ;  in  that 

*  uvaXoyiav  rf/g  mareug.  —  Rom.  xii.  6. 


396  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

vulgarly  attributed  to  Atlianasius  (A.  D.  333)  we  read  : 
"  Who  suffered  for  our  salvation,  descended  into  hell, 
rose  again  the  third  day  from  the  dead,"  —  the  burial 
being  omitted ;  from  which  comparison  it  would  seem 
that  the  two  phrases  were  then  thought  to  be  synony- 
mous. But  nearly  all  the  learned,  outside  the  papal 
ranks,  deny  that  Athanasius  wrote  the  formula  called 
by  his  name.  Waterland,  on  strong  grounds,  ascribes 
It  to  Hilary  (Bishop)  of  Aries,  which  would  bring  it  a 
century  later ;  and  certainly  it  was  not  known  through 
the  church  until  the  close  of  the  sixth.  Rufinus, 
Bishop  of  Aquileia  *  (a  great  city  in  the  Venetian  ter- 
ritory), says  that  his  church  had  both  articles  in  its 
creed,  but  that  the  Roman  and  Eastern  churches  had 
only  the  burial ;  and  he  thought  that  the  two  meant 
the  same  thing,f  one,  perhaps,  being  explanatory  of  the 
other,  if  not  a  mere  expletive.  It  is  not  known  at 
what  time  they  came  to  be  interpreted  distinctly, 
though  Erasmus  thought  that  it  began  with  Thomas 
Aquinas  (circa  1305)  ;  but,  undoubtedly,  some  opinions 
now  held  respecting  our  Lord's  descent  into  hell  were 
promulged  at  an  early  period.  Witsius  (the  noble  doc- 
tor of  our  mother-church)  cites  the  historian  Socrates, 
to  show  that  a  company  of  about  fifty  Arians  at  Con- 
stantinople (A.  D.  359)  published  a  creed  which  says : 
"  He  was  crucified,  and  died,  and  was  buried  and  pene- 
trated (hifXrjkvOoTa^  into  parts  beneath  the  earth  (Kara- 
X^ona),  at  whom  hell  (aS?^s)  itself  was  struck  with  ter- 
ror." But  Witsius  might  have  found  in  the  same  his- 
torian  a  creed  rejected  by  the  council  of  Ariminum 
(Rimini),  who  deposed  the  Arian  bishops  %  that  had 

*  Nona  inter  claras,  Aquileia,  urbes.  —  Ausonius. 

t  Vis  tamen  verbi  eadem  videtur  esse  in  eo  quod  sepultus  dicitur. 

J  Ursatius  and  Valens. 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT   INTO   HELL.  397 

presented  it  (A.  D.  356),  which  has  these  expressions : 
"  Was  crucified  and  died,  and  descended  into  parts 
infernal,  and  set  in  order  what  was  to  be  done  there, 
at  (the  sight  of)  whom  the  doorkeepers  of  hell  trem- 
bled." *  Such  language  intends  considerably  more 
than  mere  burial. 

We  are  careful  to  observe  these  historical  facts, 
because  they  prove  that  the  insertion  of  the  article, 
"  He  descended  into  hell,"  as  meaning  more  than  his 
burial,  was  made  by  heretics ;  f  and  that,  though  now  the 
papists  connect  with  it  their  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and 
kindred  follies,  the  creed  of  the  early  church  had  noth- 
ing between  the  burial  and  the  resurrection.  The  de- 
scent into  hell  is  in  the  creed  of  the  church  of  Rome 
now.  How  it  got  there  nobody  knows,  but  it  certainly 
was  not  before  the  fifth  century,  probably  not  until  long 
after. 

Secondly  :  It  is,  nevertheless,  a  scriptural  fact  that 
our  Lord  descended  into  hell,  as  we  learn  from  a  colla- 
tion of  Psalm  xvi.  9,  10,  11,  with  Acts  ii.  23-32.  In 
the  psalm  we  read  :  "  My  flesh  also  shall  rest  in  hope  ; 
for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  neither  wilt 
thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.  Thou 
wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life."  In  the  other  scripture, 
the  apostle  Peter  at  the  Pentecost  says  :  "  Him  (Jesus 
of  Nazareth)  by  wicked  hands  ye  have  crucified  and 
slain ;  whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed  the 
pains  of  death,  because  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
should  be  holden  of  it.  For  David  speaketh  concern- 
ing him :  I  foresaw  the  Lord  always  before  my  face ; 

*  Not  having  the  Greek  at  hand,  I  quote  the  English  translation,  fol. 
Cambridge,  1683,  p.  272. 

t  At  Seleucia,  Acacius  withdrew  the  passages,  but  no  doubt  from  craft, 
as  he  restored  them  at  Constantinople. 


398  THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

for  he  is  on  my  right  hand,  that  I  should  not  be  moved. 
Therefore  did  my  heart  rejoice,  and  my  tongue  was 
glad  ;  moreover,  also,  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope : 
because  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  neither 
wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption. 
Thou  hast  made  known  to  me  the  ways  of  life  ;  thou 
shalt  make  me  full  of  joy  with  thy  countenance.  Men 
and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto  you  of  the  pa- 
triarch David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and  buried,  and  his 
sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this  day.  Therefore,  being  a 
prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with  an 
oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins  he  would 
raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne ;  he,  seeing  this 
before,  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  that  his 
soul  was  not  left  in  hell,  neither  his  flesh  did  see  cor- 
ruption. This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we 
all  are  witnesses."  Thus  the  apostle,  as  well  as  the 
psalmist,  in  saying  that  our  Lord  was  not  left  in  hell, 
implies  that  he  had  been  there  ;  and  since  we  must 
believe  the  words  of  Scripture,  we  should  rightly  un- 
derstand what  those  words  mean. 

1.  The  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  originals  have  each 
two  words  of  different  signification,  to  render  which 
our  translators  had  but  the  one  word,  hell.  The  He- 
brew has  gehenna  (nsn'')?)  and  sheol  (biS^7)  :  gehenna 
signifying  the  place  where  the  wicked  after  death  are 
in  fiery  torment,  or  hell  in  the  present  sense  of  that 
word  among  us  ;  sheol  signifying  the  region  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  most  frequently  the 
place  of  the  dead,  or  the  grave  —  though  in  a  few  texts, 
by  a  natural  figure,  destruction.  Sheol,  not  gehenna, 
is  the  word  in  the  psalm :  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my 
soul  in  sheol,'^  i.  e.  in  the  place  or  state  of  the  dead,  or 


lect.  xix.j         the  descent  into  hell.  399 

the  grave.  The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  adopted 
gelienna  from  the  Hebrew,  and  use  it  to  signify  the  place 
of  fixture  punishment  (yUwa,  rendered  throughout  our 
translation  by  hell ;)  but  whenever  they  speak  of  the 
state  or  place  of  the  dead,  they  use  the  word  hades 
(oESt^s)  as  equivalent  to  sheol.  Thus  Luke  in  the  para- 
ble has :  "  The  rich  man  also  died  and  was  buried ; 
and  in  (hades)  hell,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  tor- 
ments, and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his 
bosom."  Both  were  in  hades,  or  the  state,  —  place,  if 
you  will,  —  of  the  dead  ;  but  one  in  torments,  the 
other  a  great  way  off,  in  Abraham's  bosom.  Through- 
out our  English  Vulgate,  hades  is  rendered  by  hell,* 
except  in  1  Corinthians  xv.  55,  where  we  have  grave  : 
"  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave  (hades'), 
where  is  thy  victory  ?  "  Hades  is  the  word  in  Peter's 
citation  of  the  psalm. 

Thus  neither  the  psalmist  nor  the  apostle  says  that 
our  Lord  went  into  the  place  of  punishment,  but  the 
contrary  ;  as  otherwise  the  reasoning  of  Peter  would 
be  that  David  had  gone  to  torment,  and  is  there  still, — 
a  conclusion  from  which  every  one  would  shrink. 

2.  Then,  again,  the  Hebrew  Avord  rendered  soul, 
nephesh  (WT:0),  does  not  necessarily,  nor  even  radically, 
signify  what  we  understand  by  soul,  —  the  spiritual, 
moral  part  of  man.  Its  primary  sense  is  breath,  or  the 
life,  whether  of  man  or  beast.  Nay,  there  are  passages 
where  it  signifies  a  corpse  or  exanimate  body,  as  Hag- 
gai  ii.  13 :  "  If  one  that  is  unclean  by  a  dead  body  " 
(nephesh)  ;  and  Lev.  xix.  28  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  make 

*  There  is  no  doubt  that  hell  has  both  the  senses:  the  place  of  punish- 
ment, and  the  place  of  the  dead,  —  the  last  the  primary  one.  Holle  (G.), 
hell;  hohle  (G.),  hole.  Hence  the  common  people  associate  hell  with 
gloomy  caverns,  —  hell-gate,  hell's-mouth,  devil's  chimney,  etc.,  etc. 


400  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

any  cuttings  in  your  flesh  for  the  dead"  (najphesK). 
So,  also,  xxi. ;  but  especially  Numbers  vi.  6  :  "  All  the 
days  that  he  separateth  himself  to  the  Lord,  he  shall 
come  at  no  dead  body  "  (nephesTi).  Thus  we  might 
consistently  translate  it  in  the  psalm  :  "  My  flesh  also 
shall  rest  in  hope  ;  for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  body  in 
the  grave,  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see 
corruption."  For  the  most  part,  however,  nej)hesh  is 
used  as  the  word  person  by  us :  that  which  presents  the 
idea  of  the  man  to  us ;  as  we  say,  "  there  were  so  many 
persons  present,"  or,  so  many  souls  were  there ;  and, 
"  not  a  soul,"  or,  "  not  a  person  was  present."  It  is, 
in  fact,  a  frequent  orientalism  for  the  personal  pro- 
nouns ;  so  that  it  would  be  also  consistent  to  read : 
"  Thou  wilt  not  leave  me  in  the  state  of  the  dead." 
Either  of  these  renderings  would  be  justified  by  that 
peculiarity  of  Hebrew  poetry  called  parallelism,  which 
repeats  in  the  second,  with  some  difference  of  phrase, 
the  idea  of  the  first  line :  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  me,  or 
my  person,  or  my  body,  in  the  grave ;  nor  wilt  thou 
suffer  thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  Certainly  ^o?!/ 
One  can  scarcely  apply  to  an  exanimate  body  merely, 
but  must  refer  to  the  person  whose  body  is  in  the 
grave  ;  for  the  term  rendered  lloli/  One  in  both  the  lan- 
guages is  not  holy  in  the  sense  of  dedicated,  but  in  the 
absolutely  moral  sense  of  pious,  or  godly ;  and  the 
psalmist  would  not  speak  of  a  pious  or  godly  corpse. 

The  apostle's  term  for  soul  (jiephesJi)  is  ^vxrj :  a  term 
corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  word  in  many  particulars, 
though  not  in  all,  but  certainly,  as  many  passages  from 
the    classics    show,  *  to   the  sense  of  person  ;  and  Ave 

*  Euripides,  Helena,  v.  52.      Her.  Fureus.  v.  452.      Theocritus,   Id.  xvi. 
24.     a  Muka. 


Lect.  XIX.  THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL.  401 

should  interpret  it  accordingly.  This  is  in  accordance 
with  the  common  habit  of  language.  Martha  said  of 
her  brother  Lazarus :  "  Lord,  by  this  time  he  stinketh, 
for  he  hath  been  dead  four  days."  So  our  Lord  said  : 
"  Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?  "  and  the  apostle  Paul 
(Acts  xiii.  35,  37)  "  Wherefore  he  (David)  saith  also 
in  another  Psalm  :  Thou  shalt  not  suffer  thine  Holy 
(pious)  One  to  see  corruption  ;  but  lie^  whom  God  raised 
up  again,  saw  no  corruption."  We  see,  therefore,  that 
sow?,  here,  does  not  necessarily,  nor  even  probably,  mean 
our  Lord's  spiritual  soul  in  the  first  parallel,  any  more 
than  Holy  One  does  in  the  second. 

This  is  a  fair  critical  interpretation  of  the  passages 
on  which  the  descent  into  hell  is  mainly  founded,  and 
the  one  admitted  by  the  great  part  of  the  learned,  es- 
pecially by  all  the  eminent  doctors  of  the  reformed 
churches  from  Calvin  down  ;  yet,  since  it  has  obtained 
a  place  in  the  creed  of  the  catholic  church,  a  great 
variety  of  opinions  have  been  given  concerning  it  by 
theologians,  both  Papist  and  Protestant. 

We  shall,  therefore,  state  some  of  these :  first,  those 
of  the  Papists,  and  of  such  as  agree  with  them  partly, 
among  the  Protestants;  then,  those  of  the  reformed 
churches,  to  whose  communion  by  the  blessing  of  God 
we  belong. 

1.  The  ancient  Jews,  to  whom  "  life  and  immortal- 
ity "  were  not  revealed  as  they  have  since  been  b}^  the 
gospel,  had  an  indistinct  notion  of  a  great  region 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground,  whither  not  only 
the  bodies  of  men  went  (in  burial),  but  their  spirits 
lived  after  death,  —  the  good  in  bliss,  the  wicked  in  mis- 
ery. This  corresponded  with  the  Egyptian  and  classi- 
cal notions  :  we  might  say  with  the  universal  idea  of 

VOL.  I.  26 


402  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

cultivated  nations.  Men  at  death  were  said  to  descend, 
—  go  down  somewhere,  ("  Facilis  descensus  "  "  ad  infe- 
ros.^^^  The  neo-platonic  philosophers,  Avho  were  in 
full  force  at  Alexandria  during  the  earlier  Christian 
centuries,  and  mingled  Greek  with  Egyptian  doctrines, 
had,  also,  according  to  their  wont,  adopted  many  myths 
from  the  popular  superstitions,  as  all  tlie  Orphic  writ- 
ings show.  Some  of  the  fathers,  learned  in  both  Chris- 
tian  and  neo-platonic  systems,  but  converted  at  a  time 
of  life  when  few  men  can  wholly  change  their  inveter- 
ate sentiments,  still  less  their  phraseology,  transferred, 
without  any  scrfptural  authority,  not  a  few  figments  of 
superstition  to  their  new  faith ;  especially  mingling 
these  about  the  state  of  the  dead  with  the  Christian 
doctrine.  The  Arians,  sympathizing  with  the  Alexan- 
drian notion  of  the  Logos,  would  be  likely  to  carry 
their  bias  farther.  Hence,  we  ai'e  not  surprised  to 
find  them  (as  has  been  shown)  interpolating  the  creed 
with  their  fancy  respecting  our  Lord's  descent  into 
hades.  The  opinion  obtained  some  favor  even  with  the 
more  orthodox,  as  it  tallied  to  a  certain  extent  with  the 
rabbinical  teachings  that  had  obtained  popular  credence 
among  the  Jews,  and  given  a  tinge  of  language  to  some 
scriptural  passages.  We  have  no  more  respect  for  the 
Rabbins  than  for  the  Hermaic  teachers;  but  we  are 
disposed  to  consider  Avhat  they  quote  who  have  adopted 
their  general  idea.  The  principal  texts  are  these  three  : 
Eph.  iv.  9,  where  it  is  said  that  our  Lord  "  descended 
into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ; "  1  Peter  iii.  18,  19, 
20,  where  it  is  said  that  our  Lord  by  the  spirit  Avent 
and  "  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison  ; "  Luke  xxiii. 
43,  where  our  Lord  said  to  the  penitent  thief,  "  This 
day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."      Misinterpret- 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL.  403 

ing  these  texts,  they  divided  the  abode  of  the  dead  — 
slieol^  hades,  hell,  —  into  two  main  parts  :  one  the  place 
of  the  pious  ancients  who  believed  in  Messiah,  but 
died  before  his  "  manifestation  to  Israel ; "  the  other, 
the  prison  (^gehenna)  of  the  wicked  ;  with  some  minor 
partitions  we  need  not  stay  to  describe.  Christ,  said 
they,  descended  to  this  lower  region  first,  to  make 
known  to  the  pious  spirits  his  full  gospel,  that,  through 
faith  in  his  finished  work,  they  might  obtain  full  salva- 
tion, which  they  did  by  rising  with  him  when  he  rose  ; 
but,  also,  to  confound  with  his  power  and  glory  the 
devils  and  wicked  souls.  Afterwards,  by  degrees, 
these  notions  w^ere  somewhat  modified  and  enlaro-ed, 
until  they  composed  out  of  them  the  doctrine  of  purga- 
tory, with  its  kindred  follies ;  which  is,  that  the  spirits 
of  even  Christians  (except  martyrs  and  some  few  oth- 
ers) after  death  need  a  purgation,  or  cleansing  by  fire ; 
and  are,  for  that  purpose,  shut  up  in  suffering  until 
either  sins  are  burned  away,  or  they  are  freed  from  the 
necessity  by  the  prayers  of  the  church,  accompanying 
the  repeated  sacrifices  of  Christ's  body  in  the  mass. 
This  is  what  the  papists  mean  by  saying  masses  for  the 
repose  of  souls.  The  doctrine  of  purgatory  has  been, 
as  is  well  known,  a  most  fruitful  source  of  simoniacal 
gain  and  profit  to  that  artful  mistress  of  abominations, 
who  leaves  no  means  untried  to  subject  mankind  by 
terror  of  her  pretended  authority,  here  and  in  the  next 
world;  but  time  would  fail  to  give  even  the  briefest 
account  of  the  many  follies  uttered  by  them  in  connec- 
tion with  the  main  dogma.  It  is  remarkable,  however, 
that  it  (the  doctrine  of  purgatory)  was  never  formally 
affirmed  by  the  church  of  Rome  until  the  council 
of  Florence,  1439,  and  has  been   steadily  rejected  by 


404  THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

the  Eastern  churches  of  all  ages.  Strange  that  it 
should  have  taken  thirteen  centuries  for  an  infallible 
church  to  find  out  a  doctrine  of  religion  !  The  immac- 
ulate conception,  however,  lagged  far  behind.  God 
deliver  us  from  such  developments  of  church-life  ! 

There  is,  also,  out  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  prin- 
cipallj'  (if  not  altogether,  nowadays)  among  high- 
church  Episcopalians,  a  party  more  considerable  for 
learning  than  numbers,  who,  adopting  the  ancient  no- 
tion of  slieol,  or  hades,  contends  that  at  death  neither  the 
righteous  go  to  heaven,  nor  the  wicked  to  hell  (prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels)  ;  but  that,  until  the  resur- 
rection, the  good  are  in  bliss,  the  wicked  in  torments, 
though  far  apart,  and  that  neither  the  bliss  of  the  one 
nor  the  misery  of  the  other,  will  be  complete  until  the 
soul  is  again  united  to  the  body.  This  region,  or  con- 
dition, intervening  between  the  death  of  the  body  and 
the  resurrection,  they  call,  for  want  of  a  better  term, 
the  separate  state;  because  there  disembodied  souls 
exist  apart  from  living  men  on  earth,  and  from  the 
angels  in  heaven. 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  this  notion  is  so  much  in- 
sisted upon ;  as  while,  at  the  best,  its  advocates  are  able 
to  give  but  a  vague,  shadowy  idea  of  what  they  mean 
by  it,  they  gain  no  practical  benefit  over  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  orthodox  who  hold  another  opinion,  but, 
as  we  think,  lose  much  comfort ;  for  all  well-taught 
Christians  believe  that,  though  the  disembodied  soul  of 
the  wicked  man  goes  to  the  hell  of  fire,  and  the  soul  of 
the  pious  man  goes  to  heaven,  at  once,  the  one  will 
receive  a  great  accession  of  misery,  the  other  of  bliss, 
when  souls  are  united  again  to  their  proper  bodies ; 
because  then  the  entire  7nan  will  suffer  or  enjoy  with 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  405 

greater  intensity.  But  as  was  said  before,  the  number 
even  of  Episcopalians  holding  this  doctrine  is  compara- 
tively small,  many  of  the  same  creed  opposing  it  stren- 
uously, others  speaking  of  it  very  doubtingly  ;  nor  has 
it  any  place  in  their  articles  or  liturgy  ;  *  and,  as  it  is 
based  on  the  same  texts  as  the  Romish  doctrine  of 
purgatory,  a  due  examination  of  those  texts  will  suffice 
to  refute  both. 

a.  When  the  apostle  in  Ephesians  (iv.  9)  asserts 
that  our  Lord  "  descended  into  the  lower  parts  of  the 
earth,"  he  simply,  according  to  his  Hebraistic  habit  of 
lanefuao-e,  means  to  describe  the  Saviour's  extreme 
humiliation  for  us,  in  submitting  to  poverty  of  life,  the 
shame  of  the  cross,  and  even  to  the  disgraces  of  the 
grave  in  his  burial  under  ground.  He  could  not  as  a 
man  descend  lower.  It  was  fi'om  the  uttermost  depths 
of  human  ignominy  that  he  ascended  to  the  sublimest 
height  of  glory  in  heaven,  bearing  up  with  him  his 
cross-scarred,  once  dead  and  buried  body,  to  the  right 
hand  of  his  Father's  throne. 

h.  The  text  in  1  Peter  (iii.  18,  19),  quoted  to  prove 
that  our  Lord  went  after  his  death,  and  preached  to  the 
spirits  in  prison,  teaches  no  such  thing.  For,  if  we 
read  from  the  14th  verse,  we  see  that  the  apostle  is 
exhorting  Christians  to  steadfastness  and  patience  under 

*  The  XLth  article  adopted  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  condemns  the 
doctrine  of  the  soul  sleeping  between  death  and  the  resurrection,  but  says 
nothing  about  a  separate  state.  The  expressions  in  the  prayer  of  the 
Burial-Service:  "Almighty  God,  with  whom  do  live  the  spirits  of  them  that 
depart  hence;^n  the  Lord,  and  with  whom  the  souls  of  the  faithful,  after 
they  are  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh  are  in  joy  and  felicity;" 
....  and  that  God  would  hasten  his  kingdom  "  that  all  the  elect  might 
have  their  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  both  in  body  and  soul,"  are 
quite  as  much  in  conformity  with  our  opinions,  if  not  more  so,  and  were, 
no  doubt,  like  many  other  things  in  the  book,  adopted,  at  the  farthest,  as  a 
compromise  of  sentiments  on  things  not  essential. 


406  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

calumny  and  persecution  :  "  If  ye  suffer  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  liappy  are  ye,  and  be  not  afraid  of  their  ter- 
ror, neither  be  troubled  ;  but  sanctify  the  Lord  God  in 
your  hearts  ;  and  be  ready  always  to  give  an  ansiver  to 
every  man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that 
is  in  you,  M^ith  meekness  and  fear  ;  having  a  good  con- 
science ;  .  .  .  .  for  it  is  better,  if  the  will  of  God  be 
so,  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing  than  for  evil-doing." 
Then,  to  encourage  them  in  this  patient  steadfastness, 
he  gives  two  examples  of  fidelity  and  deliverance : 
"  For  Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just 
for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God  ;  being 
put  to  death  in  the  flesh,"  —  persecuted  to  that  last  ex- 
tremity, —  "  but,"  not  abandoned  by  God,  "  quickened 
by  the  Spirit,  even  by  the  Holy  Ghost  who  raised  him 
gloriously  ;  "  then  again  :  "  by  which,"  the  same  Spirit 
which  moved  him  to  his  mission  of  suffering  and  mercy, 
and  delivered  him  triumphantly,  "  also  he  went  and 
preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison,  which  sometime 
were  disobedient,  when  once  the  long-suffering  of  God 
waited  in  the  days  of  Noah  while  the  ark  was  a  })repar- 
ing,  wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were  saved  by 
water."  He  did  preach  to  the  spirits  in  prison,  but 
not  when  they  were  in  prison,  neither  did  he  go  per- 
sonally after  his  death  to  preach  to  them  :  he  preached 
to  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Noah,  when  they  were 
living  on  earth  at  the  time  the  ark  was  a  preparing  ; 
for  the  neglect  of  whose  warnings  they  were  drowned, 
and  cast  into  the  prison  of  hell  where  they  have  been 
ever  since,  as  they  were  at  the  time  Peter  wrote. 
Christ,  in  Noah,  by  his  Spirit,  preached  to  them  before 
the  flood,  just  as  in  his  ministers  he  preaches  to  us  by 
his  Spirit  now. 


Lect.  XIX.J  THE  DESCENT   INTO   HELL.  407 

Noah,  acting  under  tlie  influence  of  this  Spirit  of 
Christ  as  a  [)reacher  of  trutli,  suffered  many  trials,  but 
was  delivered  out  of  them  all  in  the  ark  which  bore 
him  safely  over  the  waters  that  submerged  the  wicked 
to  hell.  Now,  reasons  the  apostle,  "  the  like  figure 
(that  is,  the  ark  on  the  water)  whereunto,  even  baptism, 
doth  also  now  save  us  "  who  are  suffering  persecutions 
by  making  us  one  with  Christ — "baptism  (not  [like 
circumcision  which  was]  the  putting  away  of  the  filth 
of  the  flesh  but  [see  verses  15,  16]  the  answer  of  a  good 
conscience  toward  God,)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  which  is  the  earnest  of  our  eternal,  complete 
redemption.  This  is  the  only  view  of  the  passage  that 
will  connect  its  several  parts  from  the  14th  verse  to  the 
end  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  fitness  be- 
tween Christian  steadfastness,  which  is  the  apostle's 
theme,  and  Christ's  preaching  to  souls  in  purgatory. 
There  are  other  good  reasons  against  the  papistical  in- 
terpretation, but  what  has  been  said  is  sufficient. 

c.  It  has  also  been  contended  that  the  Paradise 
into  which  (Luke  xxiii.  43)  our  Lord  promised  the 
penitent  thief  admission  with  himself,  the  very  day  they 
died,  must  be  some  other  place  than  heaven,  and,  there- 
fore, the  separate  place  of  faithful  souls.  We  cannot 
allow  either  supposition  ;  but  see  the  contrary.  By  sin 
man  lost  paradise,  where  he  had  enjoyed  the  favor  of 
God,  and  was  driven  out  of  it ;  and,  now  that  our  Lord 
had  expiated  sin  for  the  restoration  of  his  people  to 
divine  favor,  what  more  natural  or  appropriate  than  to 
call  the  state  of  his  people's  recovered  blessedness, 
paradise  ?  What  more  in  harmony  with  the  great 
truth  than  that  he,  as  the  second  Adam,  should,  his 
work  of  salvation  being  finished,  reenter  paradise  as 


408  THE  DESCENT  JNTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

the  head  of  his  new  race,  takmg,  as  a  troph}'-  of  his 
merits  and  as  an  earnest  of  his  church,  the  converted 
malefactor  into  its  holy,  blissful  beauty  ?  We  cannot 
imagine  a  better  name  for  the  heaven  of  the  recovered 
humanity,  than  paradise.  Why  should  there  not  be 
a  second  paradise  when  there  is  a  second  Adam  ? 

Besides,  the  first  paradise  was  not  the  abode  of  un- 
embodied  spirits,  but  of  man  integrally,  body  and  soul : 
with  what  propriety  or  intelligibleness  can  its  name  be 
given  to  a  sphere  where  man  never  is,  bodily  ?  Is  not 
heaven,  Avhich  has  always  been  the  abode  of  pure,  holy 
spirits,  the  more  fitting  place  for  the  spirit  of  a  just 
man  when  disembodied  ? 

There  is,  moreover,  no  warrant  in  Scripture  for  such 
a  definition  of  paradise.  The  word,  which  literally 
means  a  garden,  is  used  by  the  Seventy  for  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  and  in  the  New  Testament  occurs  in  only 
two  places  besides  our  text :  once  in  2  Corinthians 
xii.  4,  and  in  Revelation  ii.  7. 

In  the  first,  the  whole  passage  taken  together  inter- 
prets itself  "  I  knew,"  says  he,  speaking  of  himself,  "  a 
man  in  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago,  (whether  in 
the  body  I  cannot  tell,  or  out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell : 
God  knoweth)  —  such  a  man  caught  up  to  the  third 
heaven ;  and  I  knew  such  a  man  (whether  in  the  body 
or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth)  —  how 
that  he  was  caught  up  into  paradise,  where  he  heard 
unspeakable  words."  Now,  here,  before  we  go  farther, 
we  must  note  two  things  that  make  it  most  unlikely  for 
Paul  to  have  had  the  views  of  paradise  which  they 
have,  against  whom  we  argue.  They  declare  roundly 
that  it  is  the  separate  place  of  faithful  spirits  only  ;  but 
Paul,  who  must  have  known  this  if  it  were  so,  cannot 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT   INTO  HELL.  409 

tell  whether  he  went  there  in  his  body  or  out  of  it. 
Had  he  gone  to  such  a  place,  it  must  have  been  in 
spirit,  as  they  say  Christ  did.  Then  they  situate  para- 
dise in  sheol,  or  liades ;  and  throughout  in  Scripture, 
men  are  said  to  go  doivn  into  slieol,  as  here  in  the  creed : 
"  He  descended  into  hell ;  "  but  Paul  was  "  caught  up 
into  paradise :  "  went  there  in  the  same  direction  — 
upward  —  that  he  went  to  the  third  heaven.  The 
utter  discrepancy  is  manifest. 

But,  on  taking  the  whole  passage,  the  two  state- 
ments only  describe,  to  any  unbiased  judgment,  one 
rapture,  —  not  two,  as  our  opponents  think ;  for  it  is  only 
after  the  second  statement  that  he  states  what  occurred 
in  his  vision,  ^.  e.  he  "  heard  unspeakable  words." 
After  his  manner,  writing  as  he  did  for  Gentiles  and 
Jews,  he  repeats  his  first  statement,  using  for  the  state 
of  the  blest  the  word  to  which  his  Hebrew  readers 
were  accustomed.  Not  improbably  (as  we  think),  he 
meant  to  teach  them  that,  contrary  to  the  popular  opin- 
ion derived  from  the  rabbins,  paradise  was  not  in  sheol^ 
or  "  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,"  but  in  the  third 
heaven,  which  all  admit  is  the  immediate  presence  of 
God.*  If  there  was  only  one  rapture,  therefore,  our 
point  is  proved  ;  but  if  there  were  two,  it  by  no  means 
proves  that  paradise  is  a  state  separate  from  heaven. 

For,  in  Rev.  ii.  7,  we  read  :  "  To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God."  Now,  where  the 
tree  of  life  is,  there  is  paradise ;  but  in  the  22d  chapter 
(1,  2)  we  read  again :  "  He  showed  me  a  pure  river 

*  Paul  certainly  had  two  raptures  or  visions,  at  least,  before  this:  one 
at  his  conversion,  near  Damascus;  another  shortly  after,  at  Jerusalem. 
Acts  xxii.  17.  But  both  were  more  than  fourteen  years  before  the  date  of 
the  epistle,  that,  at  the  earliest,  was  written  a.  d.  56  —  probably  later. 


410  THE  DESCENT   INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

of  the  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of 
the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  ;  in  the  midst  of  the 
street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there 
the  tree  of  life."  Where  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb  is,  there  is  the  highest  heavens,  the  place  of  final 
blessedness  (see  Rev.  vii.  9)  ;  but  the  tree  of  life  is 
planted  near  the  throne ;  therefore,  there  is  paradise. 
Compare,  also,  with  the  text,  Rev.  iii.  21,  where,  to 
him  that  overcometh,  Christ  promises  a  seat  on  his 
throne.  The  promises  are  parallel.  In  a  Avord,  what 
more  natural  than  that,  when  the  Spirit  describes  the 
restoration  of  man  to  blessedness,  he  should  describe  it 
by  the  images  of  the  first  paradise,  and  the  tree  of  life, 
of  which  man  was  not  there  permitted  to  eat. 

Before  we  entirelj^  dismiss  these  controverted  texts, 
let  us  put  alongside  of  them  several  which  are  not  con- 
troverted.     The  apostle  in  Philippians  i.  21-23,  says, 

"  For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain 

For  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  de- 
part and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better."  Now 
Christ  is,  all  admit,  in  heaven,  —  body  and  soul.  When, 
therefore,  Christ  in  life,  that  is,  the  living  to  Christ 
here,  is  exchanged  for  departing  to  be  with  Christ,  it 
must  be  because  the  soul  will  then  go  to  heaven,  where 
Christ  is ;  which  is,  indeed,  "  far  bettor."  The  reply 
offered  to  this  is  that  Christ  by  his  divinity  is  omnipres- 
ent, and,  also,  by  his  Spirit  present  with  his  saints  in 
their  separate  state  ;  but  this  is  rather  a  quibble  than 
an  argument,  since  it  Avas  not  necessary  for  the  apostle 
to  depart  to  be  with  Christ  in  that  sense ;  as  he  is  here 
in  his  omnipresence  and  by  his  Spirit  until  the  end  of 
the  world.  The  apostle  evidently  means  a  personal 
nearness  to  his  Lord.       So  he  says,  2    Cor.  v.    5-8, 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL.  411 

even  when  anticipating  the  fuhiess  of  the  resurrection  : 
"  Now  he  that  hath  wrought  us  for  the  self-same  thing 
is  God,  who  also  hath  given  unto  us  the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit.  Therefore,  we  are  always  confident,  knowing 
that,  whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent 
(not  at  home)  from  the  Lord :  for  we  walk  by  faith,  not 
by  sight  (that  is,  in  this  life)  :  we  are  confident,  I  say, 
and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  *  from  the  body  (not  at 
home  in  the  body),  and  to  be  present  (at  home)  with 
the  Lord."  Certainly,  this  means  personal  nearness 
and  actual  vision  ;  for  the  contrast  is  of  sight  to  faith. 
And  where  is  the  Christian's  home  —  his  dwelling,  not 
in  a  foreign  land,  but  with  his  people  ?  In  slieol^  or 
heaven  ?  In  corroboration  of  this,  see  what  Stephen 
the  martyr  saw  and  said  at  his  death,  Acts  vii.  55 : 
"  He,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  looked  up  stead- 
fastly into  heaven,  and  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Je- 
sus standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  .  .  .  And  they 
stoned  Stephen,  calling  upon  God,  and  saying,  Lord  Je- 
sus, receive  my  spirit !  "  Where  would  the  Lord  Jesus 
receive  the  soul  of  his  saint,  but  where  he  himself  is  ? 

Other  corroboratory  passages  might  be  added,  but 
these  will  answer  our  purpose. 

II.  The  doctors  of  the  reformed  churches,  finding 
the  article  in  the  creed,  and  not  wishing  to  reject  it, 
though  having  no  respect  for  the  dogmas  of  the  papists, 
expounded  it  in  a  sense  conformable  to  the  word  of 
God.  Thus  Calvin  (Ins.  ii.  16,  10)  :  "  Nothing  had 
been  done  if  Christ  had  endured  only  corporeal  death. 
To  interpose  between  us  and  the  anger  of  God,  and 
satisfy  his  righteous  judgment,  it  was  necessary  that  he 

*  'E/c(5??/zewf  —  EK  and  dfjiioc,  —  exiled,  expatriated,  away  from  one's 
people. 


412  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

shovild  feel  the  weight  of  divine  vengeance.  Whence, 
also,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  engage  at  close 
quarters,  as  it  were,  with  the  powers  of  hell,  and  the 
horrors  of  eternal  death.  He  undertook  and  paid  all 
the  penalties  which  must  have  been  exacted  from  them 
(for  whom  he  was  Surety),  the  only  exception  being 
that  the  pains  of  hell  could  not  hold  him.  Hence,  there 
is  nothino;  strange  in  its  beino;  said  that  "  he  descended 
into  hell,"  as  he  endured  the  death  which  is  inflicted 
on  the  wicked  by  an  angry  God.  It  is  but  a  frivolous 
and  ridiculous  objection  to  say  that  this  perverts  the 
order  of  the  creed,  putting  after  the  burial  what  pre- 
ceded it.  For,  after  explaining  M'hat  Christ  endured 
in  the  sight  of  man,  the  creed  appropriately  adds  the 
invisible  and  incomprehensible  judgment  which  he  en- 
dured before  (in  the  sight  of)  God,  to  teach  us  that 
not  only  was  the  body  of  Christ  given  up  for  our  re- 
demption, but  that  there  was  a  greater  and  more  excel- 
lent price  :  "  That  he  bore  in  his  soul  the  tortures  of 
condemned  and  ruined  men." 

The  same  view  is  given  by  the  authors  of  the  "  Hei- 
delberg Catechism,"  in  the  44th  Question  and  Answer  : 
"  Why  is  there  added :  '  He  descended  into  hell  ?  ' 
That,  in  my  greatest  temptations,  I  may  be  assured, 
and  wholly  comfoi't  myself  in  this,  that  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  his  inexpressible  anguish,  pains,  terrors,  and 
hellish  agonies,  in  which  he  was  plunged  during  all  his 
sufferings,  but  especially  on  the  cross,  hath  delivered 
me  from  the  anguish  and  torments  of  hell."  With 
this  the  reformed  theologians  universally  agree. 

That  our  Lord  did  so  suffer  the  wrath  of  God,  and 
the  curse  due  to  us  in  his  spirit,  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
but  that  such  was  the  meaning  of  the  article  when 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  413 

added  to  the  creed  after  the  burial,  is  not  so  clear.  Yet 
the  edification  and  comfort  so  derived  is  not  less  ;  nor 
are  we  forbidden  to  think,  if  we  choose,  that  it  was  in- 
serted to  comply  with  the  scripture  of  the  16th  Psalm, 
as  quoted  by  the  apostle  at  the  Pentecost. 

It  may,  however,  be  properly  asked,  how,  if  we  re- 
ject, as  we  do,  the  notion  of  an  intermediate  state,  was 
the  time  between  his  death  on  the  cross  and  his  burial 
spent  by  our  Lord  ? 

To  this  our  answer  is,  that,  as  he  commended  his 
departing  spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Father,  and 
promised  to  take  the  penitent  thief  the  same  day  into 
paradise,  we  believe  that  the  soul  of  our  Lord  did  go 
immediately  to  God  in  heaven.  The  next  day  being 
the  Sabbath,  the  second  Adam  rested  with  God,  after 
accomplishing  the  new  creation,  as  the  first  Adam 
rested  with  Him  after  the  former  creation,  in  para- 
dise. 

The  rest  of  the  Sabbath  being  over,  the  soul  of  our 
Lord  descended  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  from  heaven  into  sheol,  or  the  grave,  or  the  state 
of  the  dead  ;  not  to  be  under  the  power  of  death,  but 
as  a  conqueror,  to  take  up  again  his  body  from  under 
the  earth.  In  the  metaphorical  language  of  Scripture, 
we  may  suppose  that  there  was  a  conflict  between  our 
Lord,  now  the  Lord  of  life,  and  "  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  "  for  he  is  said  to 
have  vanquished  the  last  enemy,  —  his  spoils  being  his 
own  ransomed  body,  which  he  displayed  openly.  Thus 
we  read :  "  Whom  God  hath  raised  up,  having  loosed 
the  pains  of  death,  because  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
should  be  holden  of  it "  (Acts  ii.  24).  So,  also,  in  the 
68th  Psalm  (18th  v.)  :  "  Thou  hast  ascended  up  on 


414  THE  DESCENT  INTO  HELL.  [Lect.  XIX. 

high  ;  thou  hast  led  captivity  captive ;  "  upon  which 
the  apostle  (Ephes.  iv.  8-10)  comments :  "  Where- 
fore he  saith,  When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led 
captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men.  Now  that 
he  ascended,  what  is  it  but  that  he  also  descended  first 
into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth  ?  He  that  descended 
is  the  same,  also,  that  ascended  up  far  above  all  heavens, 
that  he  might  fill  all  things."  And  again  in  Col.  ii. 
15 :  "  Having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he 
made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in 
it,"  or  by  it,  —  his  resurrection  and  ascension.  As  a 
conqueror  in  an  ancient  triumph  showed  not  only  the 
spoils  of  his  conquest,  but  exhibited  his  vanquished  foes 
in  chains  about  his  car,  so  did  Christ,  bearing  aloft  his 
own  body,  the  earnest  of  all  the  bodies  of  his  people, 
manifest  his  power.  Thus  Hosea  (xiii.  14)  :  "I  will 
ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave ;  I  will 
redeem  them  from  death.  O  death,  I  will  be  thy 
plagues  !  O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction  !  "  On 
which  the  apostle  (1  Cor.  xv.  54-56)  :  "  Then  shall 
be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written.  Death  is 
swallowed  up  in  victory.  O  death !  where  is  thy 
sting  ?  O  grave  !  where  is  thy  victory  ?  The  sting 
of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law  ;  but, 
thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  "  Or,  as  Heber  sings  in  his 
magnificent  hymn  for  Easter :  — 

"Now  empty  are  the  courts  of  death, 
And  crushed  thy  sting,  Despair ; 
And  roses  bloom  in  the  desert  tomb, 
For  Jesus  hath  been  there. 

"  And  he  hath  tamed  the  strength  of  hell 
And  dragged  him  through  the  sky  ; 


Lect.  XIX.]  THE  DESCENT  INTO   HELL.  415 

And  captive  behind  his  chariot  wheel 
He  hath  bound  captivity. 

"  God  hath  gone  up  with  a  merry  shout 
Of  his  saints  that  sing  on  high ; 
With  his  own  right  hand  and  his  holy  arm 
He  hath  won  the  victory  ! " 

Is  it  presumptuous  to  say  that  this  view  of  the  sub- 
ject meets  the  questions,  and  corresponds  with  the  tes- 
timony of  Scripture  ? 

PRACTICAL    INFERENCES. 

First:   The  completeness  of  Ckrisfs  tvorhfor  us. 

He  exhausted  the  curse  in  his  sufferings,  and  there 
remains  no  hell  for  the  believer. 

He  follows  us  even  into  the  regions  of  the  dead,  and 
bursting  the  bars  of  death,  opens  the  way  for  our 
resurrection. 

He  hath  made  death  our  servant  and  friend. 

Secondly  :   TJie  blessedness  of  the  believer  s  death. 

It  is  followino;  Christ  out  of  this  life  to  heaven. 

It  is  the  departure  of  the  soul,  not  into  prison,  or 
sleep,  but  into  the  presence  of  God. 

It  is  leaving  the  bod}'  of  sin  and  death  in  the  grave, 
to  be  kept  and  purified  by  Christ  until  a  glorious  resur« 
rection. 


LECTURE  XX. 

THE  EESUEEECTION  OF  CHEIST. 


VOL.  I.  27 


SEVENTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 

THE  RESURRECTION   OF   CHRIST. 

Quest.  XLV.    What  doth  the  resurrection  of  Christ  projit  ns  f 

Ans.    First,  by  his  resurrection  he  hath  overcome  death   that  he  might 

make  us  of  that  righteousness  which  he  had  purchased  for  us  b}'  his 

death;   secondly,  we  are  also  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life; 

and,  lastly,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our  blessed 

resurrection. 

"THE  THIKD  DAY  HE  ROSE  AGAIN  FROM  THE  DEAD." 

IF  you  take  this  article  away  from  our  creed,  the 
whole  system  of  evangelical  doctrine  is  dissolved  and 
crumbles  to  the  ground  like  a  building  from  under 
which  the  corner-stone  has  been  dragged  out.  The 
prophets  before  him,  our  Lord  himself,  and  the  apostles 
after  him,  stake  the  credibility  of  the  gospel  in  all  its 
parts  and  as  a  whole,  on  the  one  fact  of  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead  (a).  Without  it  the  divinity  of  his  per- 
son (6),  the  genuineness  of  his  mission  (c),  the  efficacy 
of  his  atonement  (cZ),  and  the  eternal  life  of  his  peo- 
ple (e)  would  be,  not  only  without  proof,  but  proved  to 
be  falsehoods.  "If  Christ  be  not  risen,"  says  the 
apostle,  "then  is  our  (a)  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith 
is  also  vain."  Again,  he  speaks  of  himself  as  "  sepa- 
rated unto  the  gospel  of  God  .  .  .  concerning  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed  of 
David  according  to  the  flesh,  and  (5)  declared  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to  the  spirit  of 
holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."     Again, 


420  THE  RESURRECTION   OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.  XX, 

preaching  to  the  Athenians  on  Mars-hill,  he  opens  the 
doctrine  of  the  mediatorship :  "  Now  commandeth  " 
God  "all  men  everywhere  to  repent:  because  he  hath 
appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
ill  righteousness  ((?)  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  or- 
dained: whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men, 
in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead.^'  Again  : 
"  If  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain  ;  ye  are 
yet  in  your  sins  :  "  which  corresponds  with  the  testi- 
mony in  Romans  —  "  To  us  also  it  "  (that  is  the  right- 
eousness of  faith  Avhich  Abraham  had)  "  shall  be  im- 
puted, if  we  believe  on  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our 
Lord  from  the  dead  ;  w^ho  was  delivered  for  our  offences, 
and  was  raised  again  (tZ)  for  our  justification."  So, 
also,  the  apostle  Peter :  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which,  according  to 
his  abundant  mercy,  hath  (e)  begotten  us  again  unto  a 
lively  hope  (a  hope  of  life)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible, 
and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in 
heaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the 
last  time."  Indeed,  the  testimony  of  the  Old  Testament 
throughout  foretold  the  humiliation  and  consequent 
exaltation  of  the  Messiah,  as  our  Lord  showed  when, 
walking  with  the  two  disciples  to  Emmaus,  he  said  : 
"  O  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the 
prophets  have  spoken.  Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suf- 
fered these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?  And, 
beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning 
himself."  Hence  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  has  been 
justly  denominated  the  cardinal  fact  of  Christianity ; 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  EESURRECTIOX  OF  CHRIST.  421 

and  we  cannot  over-estimate  the  importance  of  rightly 
understanding  its  vital  relation  to  all  the  principles  of 
our  most  holy  faith.  This  is  taught  us  in  the  45th 
Question  and  Answer  of  the  Catechism,  under  three 
comprehensive  heads,  which  suggest  the  proper  order 
for  our  thought,  after  some  preliminary  observations 
on  matter  brought  before  us  by  the  phraseology  of  the 
creed. 

By  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we  mean  what  the 
words  of  the  article  literally  signify :  "  He  rose  again 
from  the  dead."  As  he  actually  died  and  not  merely 
swooned  away  (of  which  his  murderers  certified  them- 
selves before  he  was  taken  down  from  the  cross),  so 
he  actually  rose  up  from  death,  leaving  the  tomb  in 
which  he  had  lain  a  living  man.  The  same  body  which 
he  took  on  him  out  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  (blessed  was  she  above  women,  and  blessed  the 
fruit  of  her  womb  !)  was  crucified  ;  the  same  body  in 
.which  he  was  crucified,  was  buried,  and  so  the  same 
body  rose  up  from  the  grave.  It  was  not  a  phantasm, 
or  mere  semblance  of  a  body,  but  a  real,  substantial 
body,  identical  with  that  which  he  had  before  his  death  ; 
and  in  it  the  wounds  he  received  on  the  cross  were 
clearly  visible.  Thus,  when  he  appeared  to  his  disci- 
ples in  the  evening,  they  were  "terrified  and  affrighted, 
and  supposed  that  they  had  seen  a  spirit,  and  he  said 
unto  them  :  Why  are  ye  troubled  ?  and  why  do  thoughts 
(disputes)  arise  in  your  hearts  ?  Behold  my  hands 
and  my  feet "  (those  dear  hands  and  feet  which  had  been 
pierced  by  the  nails),  "that  it  is  I  myself:  handle  me  and 
see  ;  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  me 
have.  And,  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  showed 
them  his  hands  and  his  feet.     And  while  they  yet  be- 


422  THE  EESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.  XX. 

lieved  not  for  joy,  and  wondered,  he  said  unto  them, 
Have  ye  here  any  meat  ?  And  they  gave  him  a  piece  of 
a  broiled  fish  and  of  a  honeycomb  ;  and  he  took  it  and 
did  eat  before  them  .  .  .  Then  opened  he  their  un- 
derstanding, that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures ; 
and  said  unto  them.  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  be- 
hooved Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the 
third  day."  The  evangelist  John  farther  informs  us 
that  Thomas,  the  apostle,  was  not  present  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  when  told  of  it  by  the  rest,  he  doubted  the 
story  and  said  :  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the 
print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of 
the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not 
believe.  And  after  eight  days  again  his  disciples  were 
within,  and  Thomas  with  them.  Then  came  Jesus, 
the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the  midst  and  said, 
Peace  be  unto  you  !  Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach 
hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  (perceive)  my  hands ;  and 
reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side  ;  and 
be  not  faithless,  but  believing.  And  Thomas  answered 
and  said  unto  him.  My  Lord  and  my  God."  So  also 
the  apostle  Peter,  when  preaching  to  Cornelius  and  his 
friends  in  Cesarea,  says  :  "  Him  €rod  raised  up  the  third 
day,  and  showed  him  openly  ;  not  to  all  the  people,  but 
unto  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did 
eat  and  drink  with  him  after  he  rose  from  the  dead." 
These  were  palpable,  unmistakable  proofs  that  the  vis- 
ible form  of  Jesus  was  a  real,  substantial,  living  body, 
—  the  same  that  was  crucified. 

At  the  same  time,  the  manner  and  character  of  the 
corporeal  life  which  our  Lord  had  when  visible  to  his 
disciples  on  earth  after  his  resurrection  must  have  dif- 
fered in  some  important  particulars  from  those  of  the 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  423 

life  he  had  had  before  his  death ;  and,  for  the  same  rea- 
sons, his  body  must  have  been  changed,  not  as  to  iden- 
tity or  essential  quality,  but  as  to  its  mode  of  being. 
It  becomes  us  to  speak  here  with  a  reverent  modesty, 
yet  we  cannot  and  ought  not  to  blink  the  questions 
which  necessarily  arise. 

The  life  which  he  received  and  exercised  then  was 
not  derived,  as  his  former  life  or  our  ordinary  life,  from 
physical  generation  and  growth,  but  from  the  immedi- 
ate will  of  God.     His  former  life  was  necessarily,  be- 
cause of  his  body's  natural  tendency  to  decay,  mortal. 
The  death  of  Christ  in  his  human  nature  was  as  much 
the   inevitable    consequence   of   his   being    born    of  a 
woman  as  ours  is.     Nay,  one  of  the  main  reasons  why 
he  became  a  partaker  of  our  flesh  and  blood  was,  that 
he  raighfdie  and,  as  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  says, 
"  through  death  .  .  .  destroy  him  that  had  the  power 
of  death ;  "  which  he  could  not  have  done  in  any  other 
nature  than  human.     But  the  hfe  of  Christ  after  his 
resurrection  was  in  its  nature  immortal,  and  his  blessed 
body  incapable  of  decay  or  any  of  those  weaknesses 
which   arise  from  a  tendency  to   corruption.      It  was 
the  same  life  that  he  has  now  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father ;  and,  therefore,  his  body  had  all  those  prop- 
erties that  his  body  has,  and  the  bodies  of  his  saints  will 
have  after  their  resurrection,  in  heaven.     This  body 
and  the  change  through  which  it  passes,  is  described  by 
the  apostle  in  the  15th  of  1  Corinthians  :  "  It  is  sown 
in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is  sown  in 
dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness, 
it  is  raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown  a  natural   (animal) 
body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body  ;  and  so  it  is  written. 
The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul  (that  is, 


'±24:  THE  RESURRECTION   OF  CHRIST,         [Lect.  XX. 

made  for  an  animal  life)  ;  the  last  Adam  was  made 
a  quickening  spirit."  Now  no  one  may  pretend  to  un- 
derstand the  full  meaning  of  these  remarkable  antitheti- 
cal phrases  (we  must  wait  till  the  light  of  heaven  for 
that)  ;  but  this  much  we  can,  with  the  aid  of  other 
scriptures,  discover  :  The  heavenly  life  of  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,  and  of  his  people  after  their  resurrection, 
having  a  spiritual,  not  an  animal  source,  will  be  so  far 
spiritual  as  to  be  set  free  from  all  animal  necessities  and 
infirmities  ;  such  as  dependence  on  food  and  breath,  and 
liability  to  passion,  appetite,  weariness,  sickness,  and 
decay.  So,  by  consequence,  their  bodies  will  be  ethere- 
alized,  purged  from  all  grossness,  no  longer  a  hindrance 
to  their  souls,  but  sympathizing  with,  and  partaking  of, 
spiritual  activity  and  indefatigable  self-supporting  en- 
ergy. In  a  word,  though  we  have  not  now  time  to 
enter  upon  the  edifying  comparison,  the  glorified  body 
of  Christ,  as  it  was  seen  by  the  three  disciples,  transfig- 
ured on  the  top  of  Tabor,  was  the  pre-manifestation  of 
his  heavenly  body,  and  the  pattern  after  which  the 
bodies  of  the  redeemed  will  be  transfio-ured  at  the  res- 
urrection.  "  Our  conversation  is  in  heaven,"  says  the 
apostle,  "from  whence  also  we  look  for  the  Saviour, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  who  shall  change  our  vile  body, 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body, 
according  to  the  working"  (energy,  which  is  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,)  "  whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue 
all  things  unto  himself;"  or  again  in  the  aforecited 
chapter  of  1  Corinthians  :  "  As  we  have  borne  the 
image  of  the  earthy  "  (that  is,  of  the  first  Adam  who  was 
formed  from  the  earth),  "  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of 
the  heavenly  "  (that  is,  of  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord 
from  heaven).     Let  it  not  be  objected  to  this  view  of 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  425 

our  Lord's  body  after  Lis  resurrection,  that  he  did  actu- 
ally partake  of  food.  So  did  the  angels  who  appeared 
in  bodily  shape  to  Abraham  and  Lot.  It  was  but  a 
gracious  condescension  of  Christ  to  the  weak  minds  of 
his  disciples,  the  more  readily  to  convince  them  that  he 
was  the  same  Lord  who  had  so  often  broken  bread  with 
them  before ;  not  because  he  needed  the  sustenance 
requisite  for  a  mortal  life.  Our  own  Witsius  on  this 
quotes  with  high  approbation  a  passage  of  St.  Augus- 
tine :  "  To  be  incapable  of  taking  food,  or  to  stand  in 
need  of  food,  would  be  equally  an  evidence  of  imper- 
fection in  the  revived  body.  The  parched  earth  swal- 
lows up  water  in  a  very  different  manner  from  that  in 
which  it  is  taken  up  by  the  burning  sun.  The  one 
does  it  from  need,  the  other  by  power."  For  a  like 
reason,  our  Lord  did  not,  during  the  forty  days,  appear 
to  the  disciples  in  his  glory.  They  could  not  have 
identified  him  in  such  radiance  with  the  man  of  sor- 
rows, neither  could  they  with  their  sensual  eyes  have 
looked  upon  him  and  lived,  as  we  know"  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  three  witnesses  who,  on  the  holy  mount, 
became  as  "  dead  men." 

While,  however,  we  believe  that  the  body  of  our 
Lord  was  gloriously  changed,  we  must  reject  the  vain 
notions  of  papists  and  others,  that  it  became  infinitely 
divisible  and  omnipresent,  as  they  contend  that  it  is  in 
the  mass.  It  continued  to  be  a  human  body,  and, 
therefore,  limited  to  such  space  as  a  human  body  natu- 
rally occupies  ;  nor  is  it  possible,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  even  for  a  miracle  to  transubstantiate  the  sacra- 
mental bread  in  the  priest's  hands,  so  as  to  make  it 
part  of  Chi'ist's  body,  which  is  in  heaven. 

We  should  note,  also,  the  language  of  the  article  : 


426  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        L^ect.  XX. 

"  He  rose."  He  rose  from  the  dead  by  his  own  media- 
torial power.  He  had  purchased  the  right  of  uprising, 
by  his  blood  shed  in  expiation  of  sin.  Yet,  in  many 
passages  we  read  that  God,  even  God  the  Father, 
raised  him  up ;  and,  in  several,  the  quickening  is  as- 
cribed to  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  same  is 
said  of  his  incarnation  :  "  God  sent  his  Son,  made  of  a 
woman  ;  "  "  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  the  virgin,  and 
the  power  of  the  Highest  overshadowed  her ;  yet  he 
"  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant ;  "  he  took  part 
of  flesh  and  blood.  So  with  his  death  :  "  It  pleased  the 
Father  to  bruise  him,"  and  to  "  make  his  soul  (life) 
an  offering  for  sin  ;  and  though  he  of  his  own  will  laid 
down  his  life  for  his  friends,  it  was  throiagh  the  eternal 
Spirit  that  "  he  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God." 
There  is  no  contradiction  in  these  several  statements, 
but  a  declaration  of  the  consent  and  coefficiency  of  the 
three  persons  of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity  in  the  several 
processes  of  the  redemption.  Glory  be  to  the  Father, 
and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen  ! 

The  article  farther  particularizes  that  it  was  the 
third  day  on  which  our  Lord  rose  again  from  the  dead. 
This  is  according  to  several  scriptures,  particularly 
Christ's  own  words  shortly  after  his  transfiguration 
(Mark  ix.  31),  and  was  literally  true  ;  for  he  expired 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
(our  Friday),  and  rose  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day 
of  the  week.  But  other  scriptures  seem  to  have  fore- 
told that  the  interval  would  be  three  days,  or  three 
days  and  three  nights.  He  himself  said  to  the  Jews, 
speaking  of  his  body,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in 
three  days  I  will  raise  it  up ;  "  and  again  :  "  As  Jonas 
was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  427 

shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in 
the  heart  of  the  earth."  But  there  is  properly  neither 
discrepance  nor  difficulty  in  this,  the  two  expressions 
in  the  Hebrew  manner  of  speech  meaning  the  same 
thing.  They  began  the  day  of  twenty-four  hours  in 
the  evening,  and  called  it  the  evening  and  the  morn- 
ing, like  the  Greek  night-day ;  and  also  reckoned  a 
part  of  a  day  as  the  whole.  So,  as  our  Lord  remained 
dead  part  of  three  days,  they  would  express  it  by  three 
days  and  three  nights.  Any  objection  to  the  truth  of 
our  Lord  is  frivolous,  and  any  attempt  to  explain  it 
otherwise  than  we  have  done  would  be  incorrect.  Our 
Lord  and  his  disciples  would  not  make  so  manifest  a 
contradiction  of  themselves  as  the  use  of  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  any  other  sense  would  have  been. 
He  continued  dead  long  enough  to  disprove  the  suspi- 
cion that  he  had  only  swooned,  but  not  long  enough, 
especially  as  his  dear  body  was  wrapt  around  with 
spices,  to  "  see  corruption." 

He  rose  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  thus  ushering 
in  a  new  world;  whence  the  early  Christians  under 
apostolical  authority,  which  was  equivalent  to  revela- 
tion, for  they  acted  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  transferred  the  weekly  rest,  or  Sabbath,  from  the 
seventh  day  to  that  of  the  resurrection.  After  this  we 
have  no  trace  of  their  keeping  the  seventh  day,  but 
many  instances  of  their  meeting  together  for  Christian 
worship,  instruction,  and  communion,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  to  which  the}'  gave  the  name  of  the 
Lord's  day  (Rev.  i.  10).  The  doctrine  of  the  Sabbath 
will  be  handled  jtt  large  in  its  proper  place  ;  but,  while 
we  devoutly  acknowledge  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath 
to  be  perpetual,  we  cannot  err  in  following  apostolical 


428  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lect   XX. 

example  in  connecting  the  Sabbath  rest  with  tlie  resur- 
rection of  him  who  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  The 
change  is  but  another  lionor  done  to  the  mediatorial 
kingship  of  Christ,  who  appointed  his  Sabbath  as  the 
Creator  in  the  beginning  had  appointed  his.  The 
transference  of  divine  authority  to  the  Mediator  was 
aptly  signalized  by  a  change  of  the  day  symbolical  of 
worship.  It  meets  the  instincts  of  the  Christian  heart. 
Man  yet  guiltless,  the  representative  of  God  over  the 
works  of  his  hands,  might  enjoy,  as  he  needed,  com- 
munion with  the  Creator  to  prepare  him  for  his  holy 
duty  ;  but  man  the  sinner,  whose  only  hope  is  in  the 
merits  of  him  whom  the  Father  honors,  and  whose 
evangelical  duty  is  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Son,  needs 
and  can  enjoy  divine  communion  with  his  Saviour,  and 
only  through  him  can  he  reach  communion  with  the 
Father,  our  God  in  Christ. 

The  last  day  of  the  Aveek  has  for  us  no  associations 
or  warrant  of  hope.  It  leads  us  only  to  the  tomb, 
where  he,  who  had  promised  to  redeem  Israel,  lies  dead 
and  cold,  and,  to  all  human  sight,  vanquished  by  our 
great  enemy  ;  but,  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day,  we 
meet  a  risen  Saviour,  triumphant  over  death,  and  victo- 
rious for  us.  Then,  throughout  the  day,  more  than  on 
any  other,  does  he  delight  to  mingle  with  us  by  his 
spirit,  whether  in  our  solitary  searchings  for  him  as 
man,  or  in  our  social  converse,  like  the  two  disciples 
talking  together  as  they  walked,  or  in  the  full  assembly, 
as  the  ten  with  the  devout  women.  Oh,  who  that  has 
enjoyed  such  communion  with  the  Lord,  can  doubt  that 
God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  has  blessed  our 
Sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it? 

Now,  on  what  authority  does  the   article  before  us 


Lect.XX.]         the  KESURRECTION  of  CHRIST.  429 

require  our  faith  in  the  fact  that  our  Lord  rose  again 
fi'om  the  dead  on  the  third  day  ?  We  answer  solely  on 
the  authority  of  the  apostles.  There  are,  it  is  true, 
corroboratory  proofs  from  external  history,  but  as  Chris- 
tians we  can  base  our  belief  only  on  inspired  records. 
The  story,  as  told  by  the  evangelists  with  such  wonder- 
ful agreement,  is,  indeed,  a  testimony  to  its  own  truth- 
fulness ;  but  two  of  the  four  were  themselves  apostles, 
and  the  other  two  companions  of  apostles,  —  Mark  of 
Peter,  and  Luke  of  Paul.  So  it  is  on  the  apostolical 
testimony  alone  that  we  depend.  This  was  the  divine 
arrangement.  Li  all  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  it 
is  the  order  of  God  that  they  who  are  saved  should  be 
saved  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  The  pride  of  human 
scepticism  must  be  broken  down  by  the  truth,  mighty 
through  the  accompanying  power  of  God.  It  had  been 
easy  for  the  risen  Saviour  to  have  showed  himself  alive 
to  the  Sanhedrim  and  all  the  people  of  Jerusalem  ;  but 
such  is  not  the  divine  inethod.  Our  Lord  during  his 
life  did  exhibit  before  them  every  sufficient  and  pro- 
phetical proof  of  his  Messiahship  ;  yet  they  wickedly 
rejected  and  crucified  him.  After  his  death  and  resur- 
rection, he  demonstrates  the  truth  of  his  gospel,  not  by 
mere  human  suffrages,  but  by  its  own  divinity  and  his 
confirming  spirit.  It  was  graciously  due  to  those  who 
had  believed  on  him  during  his  life  of  humiliation,  that 
they  should  behold  him  risen  ;  and  it  is  most  probable, 
we  might  say  certain,  that  he  did  show  himself  alive 
after  his  passion,  to  all  such  believers ;  but  for  others, 
the  testimony  of  the  appointed  witnesses  was  to  be 
enough.  So  the  apostle  Peter,  in  the  first  sermon  to 
the  Gentiles,  says  :  "  Him  God  raised  up  the  third  day, 
and  showed  him  openly,  not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto 


430  THE  EESUKEECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [LEcr.  XX. 

witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  even  to  us,  who  did  eat 
and  drink  with  him  after  he  rose  from  the  dead ;  and 
he  commanded  lis  to  preach  mito  the  people,  and  to  tes- 
tify that  it  is  he  which  was  ordained  of  God  to  be  the 
judge  of  quick  and  dead.  To  him  give  all  the  proph- 
ets witness,  that,  through  his  name,  whosoever  believeth 
in  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins."  In  conformity 
to  this  we  are  told,  that  all  true  believers,  who  consti- 
tute by  aggregation  the  church  of  God,  are  built  on 
the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone,  —  the  testi- 
mony of  the  prophets  before  Christ,  and  the  testimony 
of  the  apostles  after  him,  being  united  in  his  person, 
history,  and  works,  as  the  Saviour.  Nay,  one  of  the 
chief  purposes  for  which  the  apostleship  was  ordained 
was  to  testify  of  our  Lord's  resurrection ;  and  a  main, 
indispensable  qualification  for  the  office  was  that  the 
one  chosen  should  have  seen  the  Lord  after  his  resur- 
rection. Thus,  in  the  aforecited  passage  (Luke  xxiv. 
46-8),  our  Lord,  in  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which 
he  arose,  after  having  showed  them  his  wounds  and 
illuminated  them  with  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures, 
added :  "  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behooved  Christ 
to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day : 
and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at 
Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things.  And 
behold,  I  send  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you  : 
but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jenisalem  until  ye  be  en- 
dued with  power  from  on  high."  So,  when  the  eleven 
before  the  Pentecost  thought  it  necessary  to  put  one  in 
the  place  of  Iscariot,  Peter  said  that  one  must  be  or- 
dained to  be  a  witness  of  his  (the  Lord's)  resurrection. 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  431 

Paul,  called  afterwards  to  be  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles, 
received  this  qualification  by  special  vision  of  Christ, 
and  vindicates  his  claim  to  the  apostleship,  which  it 
Avould  seem  some  had  challenged  by  demanding  :  "  Am 
I  not  an  apostle  ?  Am  I  not  free  ?  Have  I  not  seen 
Jesus  the  Lord  ?  "  And  in  another  place,  he  says,  after 
speaking  of  the  other  witnesses  to  the  resurrection  : 
"  Last  of  all,  he  was  seen  of  me  also,  as  of  one  born 
out  of  due  time.  For  I  am  the  least  of  the  apostles,  that 
am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  I  perse- 
cuted the  church  of  God." 

For  this  reason  among  others,  we  of  the  reformed 
churches  consider  that  the  apostolical  office  ceased  Avith 
the  first  college,  and  that  it  is  wholly  unscriptural  to 
hold  of  any  minister  in  the  church  since,  that  he  is  a 
successor  of  the  apostles  as  such.  The  apostles  were 
also  preachers,  and  we  should  be  sorry  to  deny  the 
right  of  any  ordained  minister  of  any  evangelical 
church,  to  follow  the  apostles  as  a  preacher  of  the  word  ; 
but  at  the  same  time  we  confidently  and  flatly  deny 
that  any  preacher  or  minister  of  any  rank,  of  any 
church,  can  be  a  successor  of  the  apostles  in  any  other 
sense,  and  consider  such  pretensions  preposterous,  arro- 
gant, contrary  to  the  truth  of  God.  For,  besides  its 
being  necessary  to  an  apostle  that  he  should  be  appointed 
immediately  by  Christ,  should  have  the  gift  of  inspira- 
tion, should  be  able  to  work  miracles  and  to  confer  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  —  none  of  which  marks  are 
discernible  in  those  who  claim  the  office  nowadays  —  it 
were  enough  to  vitiate  their  assumption  that  they  have 
not  seen  the  Lord  Jesus. 

While,  however,  we  receive  the  fact  on  the  authority 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  apostles,  the  same  Spirit  bear- 


432  THE  EESUERECTION   OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XX, 

ino-  witness  in  our  hearts  that  their  word  is  true,  we 
should  be  irrational  not  to  inquire  on  what  grounds 
their  testimony  is  put  beyond  impeachment. 

If  Christ  be  not  risen,  as  they  state,  Christianity  is 
the  most  consummate  imposture,  and  the  result  of  the 
basest  conspiracy  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  But 
this  is  impossible ;  for  let  us  consider,  first :  The  char- 
acter of  the  witnesses.  They  Avere,  —  with  the  doubtful 
exceptions  of  Matthew,  the  piiblican,  among  the  eleven 
who  were  with  Christ  from  the  beginning,  and  of  Paul, 
who  was  added  four  years  after  the  crucifixion, — simple, 
unlearned,  inexperienced,  born  in  a  rude  country  and 
bred  to  humble  callings,  —  men  most  unlikely  to  origi- 
nate such  a  scheme  or  to  dare  the  risk  of  carrying  it  on. 
They  were,  also,  ordinarily  shrewd  and  not  easily  de- 
ceived as  to  facts  that  came  under  their  immediate 
observation.  But,  if  they  had  been  deceived  by  the 
pretensions  of  him  they  followed,  his  death  of  weakness 
and  shame,  had  it  not  been  succeeded  as  he  had  fore- 
told by  his  resurrection  on  the  third  day,  would  have 
undeceived  them.  The  resurrection  was  the  hinge  on 
which  their  opinion  of  Jesus  turned ;  and,  had  it  not 
occurred,  there  was  no  motive  for  them  to  continue 
their  adherence  to  his  cause,  but  every  reason  for  their 
abandonment  of  it.  Yet,  though  their  faith  was  weak 
and  often  vacillating  before  his  death,  shortly^  after  it 
they  appear  among  the  people  cognizant  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, courageous,  unhesitating  and  explicit  in  declar- 
ing their  full  reliance  on  the  truth  and  power  of  the 
doctrine  he  had  preached.  And  what  was  that  doc- 
trine but  a  system  of  the  purest  morals,  the  most  relig- 
ious oblio-ations,  the  utmost  self-denial  and  steadfast- 
ness  under  persecution  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  from  a 


Lect.XX.]  the  resurrection  of  CHRIST.  433 

just  God  a  recompense  of  mercy,  not  in  this  world  but 
in  eternity  ?  There  have  been  many  false  religions,  and 
each  has  had  many  devoted  followers,  but  no  instance 
has  been  seen  where  men  lied  for  the  sake  of  virtue  ; 
conspired  to  cheat  that  they  might  make  others  upright ; 
and  braved  the  vengeance  of  God,  to  teach  the  world 
his  worship  in  the  purest  and  most  spiritual  form  :  cer- 
tainly none  in  which  the  devotees  based  their  delusion 
on  a  palpable  fact  of  which  their  senses  were  judges,  yet 
which  had  never  occurred. 

Consider  also  the  number  of  the  witnesses.  The 
prophets,  from  the  fall  downward  until  the  baptism  of 
Christ,  had  all  of  them  foretold  the  humiliation  and 
glory  of  Christ,  some  of  them  with  great  particularity 
as  to  time,  place,  and  circumstances ;  John  the  Baptist, 
at  the  height  of  an  unparalleled  influence  over  the  peo- 
ple, jeoparded  it  all  by  declaring  that  he  was  only  the 
forerunner  of  Christ,  in  whose  risino;  lisht  his  should 
wane  like  a  star  before  the  morning  sun  ;  our  Lord  him- 
self, while  presaging  his  own  ignominy  and  death,  prom- 
ised his  followers  nothing  for  this  life  but  tribulation, 
shame,  and  persecutions.  All  occurred  as  it  had  been 
foretold  :  then,  after  his  death  he  was  seen  alive  (for,  if 
we  admit  the  testimony  at  all,  the  particularity  with 
which  it  is  given  precludes  deception  or  mistake  respect- 
ing his  'identity  and  life)  by  the  eleven  apostles,  with 
Matthias,  all  of  whose  statements  fully  and  minutely 
harmonize  ;  by  the  pious  women ;  and,  at  one  time,  by 
more  than  five  hundred  brethren  assembled,  the  greater 
part  of  whom  were  alive,  as  Paul  says,  twenty-eight 
years  after,  and  not  one  of  whom  ever  denied  the  as- 
sertions of  the  apostles  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  all  of 
them  continued  steadfast  in  their  faith,  despite  of  perse- 
VOL.  I.  28 


434  THE  RESURRECTION  OF   CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 

oution  and  obloquy.  Now  liow  can  we  believe  that  a 
conspiracy  could  be  formed  of  so  many  persons  of  all 
ranks,  stretching  over  twenty  centuries,  at  least,  for  the 
purpose  of  deluding  the  world,  contrary  to  its  prejudices 
and  habits,  into  the  adoption  of  the  purest,  most  benefi- 
cent system  with  which  mankind  has  ever  been  blessed  ! 
Consider,  again,  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
apostolical  testimony  was  given  :  not  in  some  remote, 
obscure  place,  but  at  Jerusalem,  before  the  very  multi- 
tude and  within  hearing  of  the  very  Sanhedrim,  who 
had  been  promoters  of  the  trial  and  crucifixion  of 
Jesus,  as  well  as  personal  observers  of  the  natural 
prodigies  said  to  have  accompanied  his  death  and  up- 
rising ;  nor  this  long  afterward,  but  at  the  close  of  fifty 
days.  The  apostle  Peter  at  the  Pentecost  boldly  ap- 
pealed to  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  tlie  mixed 
multitudes  of  Jews  and  proselytes  from  Judea  and 
other  countries,  who  had  been  present  all  the  time,  for 
the  truth  of  his  assertions  respecting  the  life  and  works 
of  Jesus,  his  crucifixion,  and  the  supernatural  events 
•accompanying  it ;  and  then  plainly  declared  his  resur- 
rection and  ascension.  Surely,  then,  the  more  intelli- 
gent and  influential  Jews  had  the  opportunity  (and 
they  did  not  lack  the  will),  if  it  were  possible,  to  dis- 
prove the  story ;  yet  so  far  from  this,  the  very  people 
who  Jiad  clamored  against  Jesus  and  followed  him 
with  execrations,  listen  astounded,  and  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  them  embrace  the  gospel.  The  new 
church  is  founded  close  to  the  cross  and  tomb  of  its 
Master.  There  it  lingered  for  several  yeax's,  challeng- 
ing investigation  ;  and  thence  its  adherents  scattered 
themselves  over  the  greater  part  of  the  then  known 
world,  disputing  with   erudite  philosophers,  attacking 


Lect.  XX.]  THE  EESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  435 

hoary  prejudices,  denouncing  popular  idolatries  adorned 
with  magnificence  and  attractive  through  their  sensu- 
alism, daring  the  anger  of  infuriated  priests  and  abso- 
lute tyrannies  :  while  they  required,  as  the  only  method 
of  reconciliation  to  God,  that  men  learned  and  unlearned, 
freemen  and  slaves,  kings  and  people  of  all  nations  and 
lands,  should  bow  at  the  cross  of  an  excommunicated 
Jew  ;  yet  with  such  success,  that  though,  in  the  course 
of  three  centuries,  three  milhons  of  them  had  been 
martyred  and  many  more  treated  as  infamous  and  de- 
serving of  all  outrage,  the  little  church,  at  first  not  six 
hundred  strong,  had  become,  even  in  what  the  world  ^ 
estimates  as  strength,  mightier  than  the  Roman  empire 
itself,  —  absorbing  within  its  bosom  sects  of  philosophy, 
religious  armies,  aristocracies  and  populace,  though 
never  a  sword  had  been  unsheathed  for  its  defence  or 
progress,  and  its  only  weapon  was  the  truth  of  the 
gospel,  confirmed  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

And  what  motives  could  there  have  been  for  such  a 
conspiracy  ?  Why  should  the  apostles  with  their  attest- 
ing brethren,  after  having  had  proof  of  the  imposture, 
if  imposture  it  was,  have  united,  contrary  to  all  their 
avowed  love  of  divine  truth,  to  propagate  the  name  of 
the  deceiver  ?  That  priestcraft  in  all  ages  has  been 
cunning,  and  bold  with  schemes  to  attain  power  and 
wealth  and  luxurious  gratifications,  history  abundantly 
shows  ;  that  even  Christianity,  when  in  favor,  has  been 
prostituted  and  defiled  for  such  purposes  by  its  priests 
and  hierarchs,  that  astute  but  unscrupulous  rulers  have 
used  its  forced  alliance  to  strengthen  thrones  or  erect 
dynasties,  is  most  lamentably  true  ;  but  where  had  the 
ajiostles  such  inducements  ?  Forewarned  by  their  mas- 
ter that  they  should  suffer  trial  in  every  form,  openly 


436  THE  RESURRECTIOiSr  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XX. 

foretelling  their  own  persecutions  and  martyrdom, 
promising  tlieir  disciples  a  no  better  lot  than  their  own, 
they  lived  as  they  professed  to  live,  for  reward  after 
death,  in  an  eternity  where,  if  they  were  conspirators, 
and  blasphemei's,  and  liars,  as  they  must  have  been  if 
Christ  had  not  risen,  they  could  have  expected  nothing 
short  of  utter  damnation. 

Now,  to  say  nothing  of  other  proofs,  many  of  which 
might  and  should  be  adduced  in  a  longer  treatise,  we 
may  safely  conclude,  as  sturdy  Barron  expresses  it, 
"  that  this  testimony  is  beyond  exception  ;  that  no  mat- 
ter of  fact  ever  had,  or  could  well  have,  a  more  valid 
and  certain  proof :  ....  so  that  to  refuse  it,  is  in  effect 
to  decline  all  proof  by  testimony,  to  renounce  all  cer- 
tainty in  human  affairs,  to  remove  all  grounds  of  pro- 
ceeding securely  in  any  business  or  administration  of 
justice,  to  impeach  all  history  of  fabulousness,  to  charge 
all  mankind  with  insufficiency  or  extreme  infidelity, 
and  to  thrust  God  away  from  bearing  credible  attesta- 
tion in  any  case."  Nay,  my  brethren,  may  it  not  be 
truly  said  that,  to  be  sceptical  of  the  great  fact  which 
we  this  day  celebrate,  requires  a  greater  credulity  than 
the  most  absurd  superstition  ?  At  this  very  hour,  all 
Christendom  is  exulting  in  honor  of  our  risen  Lord  ; 
earth  ascends  toward  heaven,  and  heaven  is  stooping 
toward  earth,  that  the  church  below  and  the  church 
above  may  blend  their  anthems  in  one  grand  harmony 
of  praise,  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  for  our  offences 
and  raised  again  for  our  justification. 

Let  us  now  follow  the  Catechism  in  ascertaining  how 
we  are  profited  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
The  answer  supplied  us  is  :  — 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  RESURRECTION   OF  CHRIST.  437 

"  First,  by  his  resurrection,  he  liath  overcome  death, 
that  he  might  make  us  partakers  of  that  righteousness 
which  he  had  purchased  for  us  by  his  death  ;  secondly, 
Ave  are  also  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life ;  and, 
lastly,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our 
blessed  resurrection." 

We  have  here,  to  reduce  the  doctrine  under  brief 
heads,  the  assurance  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 

First  :    Of  our  justification. 

"  He  hath  overcome  death,  that  he  might  make  us 
partakers  of  that  righteousness  which  he  had  purchased 
for  us  by  his  death." 

Secondly  :    Of  our  sanctification. 

"  We  are  also  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life." 

Thirdly  :    Of  our  final  and  full  glorification. 

"  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our 
blessed  resurrection." 

First  :  The  resurrection  of  Christ  assures  us  of  our 
justification. 

The  divine  method  of  justifying  the  sinner  who  be- 
lieves in  Jesus,  through  the  imputation  of  the  infinitely 
meritorious  righteousness  wrought  for  us  by  our 
divine  Surety,  incarnate  as  our  elder  brother,  has  been 
handled  at  large  under  several  previous  sections  of  the 
Catechism,  and  need  not  now  be  formally  discussed. 
Let  us,  however,  remember  that,  in  his  atoning  work, 
Christ  acted  under  a  covenant  which  he  had  made  as 
our  representative  head  with  the  Father,  as  representing 
the  godhead  ;  and  the  conditions  of  the  gracious  cove- 
nant were,  that,  on  his  rendering  a  sufficient  honor  to 
the  law  which  they  had  bx'oken,  the  salvation  of  his 
people  should  be  intrusted,  with  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth,  to  his  mediatorial  hands.     It  was  necessary, 


438  THE  EESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.  XX. 

therefore,  not  only  that  he  sliould  be  divinely  acknowl- 
edged as  the  appointed  Mediator,  which  was  done  by 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  him  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  ministry,  but  that,  when  his  atoning  work 
was  finished,  its  sufficiency  and  acceptance  should  be  as 
divinely  certified ;  and  this  was  done  by  his  being 
raised  from  the  dead  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
Thus  the  apostle,  in  that  wonderful  verse  which  is  an 
epitome  of  the  whole  gospel :  "  Let  this  mind  be  in 
you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ;  who,  being  in  the 
form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God,  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  like- 
ness of  men ;  and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  unto  (until) 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross  ;  wherefore,  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name."  This  exaltation  was  the 
exaltation,  not  of  the  Son  of  God  merely,  for  he  needed 
none,  but  of  the  Son  of  God  incarnate^  as  a  servant,  in 
our  room ;  and  was  the  reward  of  his  obedience 
wrought  out  all  his  life,  even  to  his  death  on  the  cross. 
In  other  words,  he  had  fulfilled  his  part  of  the  cove- 
nant by  rendering  an  infinitely  sufficient  righteousness ; 
and  the  Father  fulfilled  his  part  by  exalting  the  cruci- 
fied Redeemer  to  infinite  power,  with  "  a  name  which 
is  above  every  name,  that,  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father." 

The  fitness  of  such  a  recognition  is  apparent.     The 
death  passed  upon  the  sinner  by  sentence  of  the  law  is 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  439 

etel'iial  death,  because  no  amount  of  punishment  that 
the  sinner  can  endure  can  satisfy  the  law's  offended 
honor  :  he  can  never  pay  the  penal  debt,  and,  therefore, 
must  suffer  on  forever,  because  never  relieved  from 
condemnation.  So,  had  Christ  not  risen  after  he  died, 
there  was  no  proof  that  the  honor  he  had  vicariously 
done  the  law  was  sufficient.  To  all  seeming,  his  death, 
like  ours,  would  have  been  eternal,  and  our  representa- 
tive, like  ourselves,  remained  under  the  curse.  But 
when  he,  from  the  infinite  dignity  which  his  divine  na- 
ture gave  to  his  human  sacrifice,  had  honored  tlie  law 
by  the  obedience  of  his  active  life,  and  the  expiation  of 
his  submissive  death  had  rendered  the  law  an  infinite 
honor,  he  had  utterly  paid  the  penalty,  disarmed  the 
curse,  and  exhausted  death.  The  avenger  had  no 
power  over  him  ;  it  was  not  possible  that  he  should  be 
longer  holden  of  the  pains  of  death  ;  and,  therefore,  of 
his  own  right,  purchased  under  the  terms  of  the  cove- 
nant, the  Mediator  arose,  in  manifestation  that  his  sav- 
ing work  was  accomplished  and  accepted.  Thus  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews  declares  that  "  the  God  of  peace 
brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  the  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  ever- 
lasting covenant ;  "  that  is,  through  the  virtue  of  his 
own  blood  shed  as  the  head  of  the  church,  under  the 
agreement  of  the  gracious  covenant ;  and,  in  another 
place,  the  same  writer  declares  that  the  Son  of  God  was 
sanctified  by  the  blood  of  the  covenant  (Heb.  x.  29). 
The  whole  argument  of  the  evangelical  scriptures  pro- 
ceeds upon  this.  The  victims,  —  goats,  or  sheep,  or 
calves,  slain  upon  the  Levitical  altar,  were  proved  to  be 
mere  types,  pointing  to  the  true  sacrifice,  but  in  them- 
selves insufficient  to  take  away  sin,  not  merely  because 


440  THE  RESURRECTIOX  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 

of  their  unworthy  nature,  but  because,  when  slain,  they 
never  revived.  Hence  the  necessity  of  fresh  blood  ; 
the  craving  law  was  never  satisfied,  the  penalty  was  not 
paid,  the  death  substituted  was  not  enough.  Nothing 
short  of  his  resui  rection  could  show  that  the  sacrifice 
of  tlie  substitute  was  accepted  as  sufficient.  Thus  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews :  "  For  the  law,  having  a  shadow 
of  good  things  to  come,  .  .  can  never,  with  those  sac- 
rifices which  they  offered  year  by  year  continually, 
make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect.  For  then  would 
they  not  have  ceased  to  be  offered  ?  because  that  the 
worshippers  once  purged  should  have  had  no  more  con- 
science of  sins.  .  .  .  And  every  priest  standeth  daily 
ministering  and  offering  oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices, 
which  can  never  take  away  sins  ;  but  this  man,  after 
he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever,  sat  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  ;  from  henceforth  expecting  till 
his  enemies  be  made  his  footstool.  For,  by  one  offering, 
he  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are  sanctified." 
From  the  moment  that  he  said  on  the  cross  :  "  It  is  fin- 
ished !  "  the  justification  of  his  people  was  secured  ; 
even  the  lifeless  body  of  the  Surety  passed  from  the 
hands  of  his  enemies  into  those  of  his  friends,  having 
suff'ered  no  farther  insult  except  the  rude  opening  of 
that  blessed  fountain  of  blood  and  water  which  has 
filled  for  us  the  pool  of  healing ;  and  he  lay  in  the  tomb 
only  long  enough  to  sweeten  it  for  our  rest :  but  the 
assurance,  the  divine  acknowledgment,  of  the  justifying 
merit,  was  not  given  till  his  resurrection.  Then  we 
see,  by  his  victory  of  the  grave,  that  the  sting  of  death 
was  plucked  out,  and  that  the  law  has  no  more  strength 
to  hold  us,  and  bless  with  triumphant  voices  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.     So  the  apostle  in  Romans :  "  Who  shall 


Lect.  XX.]        THE  RESUERECTION   OF  CHRIST.  441 

lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  It  is  God 
that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is 
Christ  that  died ;  yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again." 
And  in  full  sympathy  with  the  divine  word,  we  may 
exclaim,  in  the  words  of  the  seraphic  Hall :  "  Oh,  my 
dear  Saviour,  I  bless  thee  for  thy  death,  but  I  bless  thee 
more  for  thy  resurrection.  That  was  a  work  of  won- 
derful humility,  of  infinite  mercy  ;  this,  a  work  of  infi- 
nite power.  In  that,  was  human  weakness ;  in  this, 
divine  omnipotence.  In  that,  thou  '  wast  delivered  for 
our  offences ; '  in  this,  thou  '  wast  raised  again  for  our 
justification.'  " 

But  there  was  something  more  needed  than  the  dis- 
play of  his  acceptance  with  the  Father  ;  the  salvation  of 
his  people,  now  purchased  by  his  blood,  was  to  be 
accomplished  by  his  power.  He  was  to  ask  and  receive 
for  them  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  by  that 
Spirit  make  them  actually  partakers  of  his  righteous- 
ness. The  smitten,  feeble  flock  needed  the  care  and 
guidance  and  championship  of  its  great  and  good  Shep- 
herd ;  the  powers  of  hell  were  to  be  crippled,  and  the 
powers  of  heaven  and  earth  employed  for  the  triumph 
of  his  church  ;  the  gates  of  hell  wei^e  to  be  borne  away, 
and  the  everlasting  doors  of  heaven  flung  open  for  their 
exodus  from  the  grave  to  immortality ;  the  angelic 
armies  were  waiting  for  the  Lord  of  their  hosts,  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  to  lead  and  direct  them  in  the 
service  of  his  redeemed,  and  the  Father  expecting  him 
on  his  throne,  that,  to  his  coequal  divinity,  the  infinite 
rule  of  providence  might  be  given.  He  could  not  be 
Lord  of  the  living  while  he  remained  among  the  dead. 
None  but  the  risen  Lord  could  say  to  the  sorrowful  be- 
liever, Why  weepest  thou?  and  chase  away  his  tears 


442  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 

by  a  word  of  love.  None  but  the  risen  Lord  could  say 
to  the  doubting  one,  "  Be  not  faithless,  but  believing," 
while  he  opens  the  scriptures  concerning  himself  to  the 
illuminated  understanding.  None  but  the  risen  Lord 
could  say  to  his  messengers,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature ;  and  lo  !  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  "  No  ! 
if  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain ; " 
"  if  Christ  be  not  raised,  then  is  our  faith  vain  ;  we  are 
yet  in  our  sins ; "  "if  for  this  life  only  we  have  hope 
in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable." 

Secondly  :  The  resurrection  of  OJirist  assures  us  of 
our  sanctijication. 

The  union  of  the  believer  with  Christ,  his  represen- 
tative head,  is  vital  and  perpetual.  "  I  am  crucified 
with  Christ,"  says  the  apostle,  "  nevertheless,  I  live  ; 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and  the  life  that  I 
now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  As 
by  faith  he  dies  in  Christ's  death  on  the  cross,  so  by 
faith  he  lives  a  new  life  in  Christ's  life  after  death.  As 
Christ's  life  after  his  resurrection  was  a  heavenly  life, 
so  the  life  of  the  believer,  who  knows  the  power  of 
Christ's  resurrection,  as  well  as  the  fellowship  of  his 
sufferings,  is  made  conformable  to  Christ's  death  by 
dying  unto  sin,  and  aspiring  to  Christ's  life  in  heaven. 
This  is  the  generous  and  elevating  argument,  as  the 
apostle  gives  it :  "  Where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound ;  that,  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto 
death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness 
unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  What 
shall  we  say  then  ?  Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that 
grace  may  abound  ?     God  forbid.     How  shall  we,  who 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  KESURRECTION   OF  CHRIST.  443 

are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?  Know  ye  not 
that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ 
were  baptized  into  his  death.  Therefore  we  are  buried 
with  him  by  baptism  into  death ;  that,  like  as  Christ 
was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  For, 
if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his 
death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrec- 
tion ;  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  is  crucified  with 
him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that 
henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sin.  For  he  that  is 
dead  is  freed  from  sin.  Now,  if  we  be  dead  with 
Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  live  with  him  ; 
knowing  that  Christ,  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth 
no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.  For 
in  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once  ;  but  in  that  he 
liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God.  Likewise  reckon  ye  also 
yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Nothing  can 
be  clearer  than  this  expository  logic.  Sanctification  fol- 
lows necessarily  upon  justification  through  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ,  as  his  resurrection  followed  his  death. 
We  have  no  part  in  the  one,  if  we  do  not  feel  the 
power  of  the  other.* 

Besides,  as  we  learn  from  several  scriptures,  the 
same  Holy  Spirit  by  whose  power  Christ  was  raised, 
quickens  his  people  by  grace.  The  gift  of  that  Spirit 
without  measure  to  Christ  was  promised  him  in  the 
covenant :  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him 
should  all  fulness  dwell."      All  grace  comes  from  the 

*  See  Ephesians  i.  39-23 ;  ii.  6,  7.  The  parallel  is  drawn  between  the  rais- 
ing up  of  Christ  and  the  conversion  of  the  sinner.  Throughout  the  epistlS; 
the  power  of  God  signifies  the  Holy  Ghost. 


444  THE  KESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.        [Lect.  XX. 

Father,  bvit  only  through  Christ,  and  through  Christ 
only  by  the  operating  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Christ  needs  not  the  grace  for  himself,  but  receives  the 
fulness  of  the  Spirit,  that  of  his  fulness  we  all  might 
receive,  and  grace  for  grace.  Hence  the  apostle  Peter, 
at  the  Pentecost,  proves  the  ascension  of  Christ,  and 
accounts  for  the  miraculous  effusion  of  spiritual  influ- 
ences by  the  same  word.  "  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised 
up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses.  Therefore,  being  by 
the  rio-ht  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  havino;  received  of 
the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath 
shed  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  That 
Holy  Spirit  purchased  for  us  by  his  merits,  and  ob- 
tained for  us  by  his  prayers,  he  continues  to  send  down 
upon  Christians  as  individuals,  and  as  a  church,  and 
will  until  the  consummation  in  glory.  The  grace  of 
the  Spirit  is  the  sanctifying  life  of  the  church,  sent  from 
the  head  of  the  body  through  all  his  members  ;  and 
"  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us."  It  is  of 
this  inner  grace,  as  well  as  Christ's  power  over  provi- 
dence, that  the  apostle  was  thinking  when  he  says  : 
"  God  commendeth  his  love  towards  us,  in  that,  while 
we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more, 
then,  being  now  justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be 
saved  from  wrath  through  him.  For  if,  when  we  were 
enemies,  we  were  reconciled  unto  God  by  the  death  of 
his  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved 
by  his  life ; "  that  is,  his  life  after  his  resurrection. 
Salvation  is  completed  only  through  sanctification  ; 
sanctification  only  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
and  that  grace  is  obtained  for  us  only  by  him  who  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us.  So  the  apostle 
Peter,  speaking  of  our  lively  hope  from  the  resurrec- 


Lect.  XX."\         the  resurrection  of  CHRIST.  445 

tion  of  Jesus,  says  that  the  heavenly  mheritance  is 
•'  reserved  "  for  those  "  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
God,  through  faith  unto  salvation."  Notwithstanding 
all  Christ's  sufferings,  we  should  despair  of  reaching 
neaven,  were  it  not  that  he  who  died  for  us  now  lives 
for  us,  to  make  us  more  than  conquerors  over  tempta- 
tion without  and  corruption  within.  Thus  it  is  that  we 
are  by  his  power  raised  up  to  a  new  life  ;  and  now,  be- 
cause Christ  that  died  is  risen  again,  and  is  now  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  and  also  maketh  intercession  for  us, 
we  know  that  the  author  will  be  the  finisher  of  our  faith, 
and  may  well  be  persuaded  that  nothing  will  be  able 
to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.     "  Because  he  lives,  ive  shall  live  also." 

Thirdly  :  The  7'esurrection  of  Christ  assures  us  of 
our  final  and  full  glorification. 

The  answer  iu  the  Catechism  is  confined  to  our  res- 
urrection, and  the  ascension  of  Christ  is  the  subject  of 
the  next  article,  the  discussion  of  which  w^ill  involve 
our  assurance  of  an  entrance  with  him  into  glory.  But, 
though  theologians  distinguish,  and  very  properly,  the 
several  degrees  of  our  Lord's  exaltation,  the  Scriptures 
often  speak  of  his  resurrection  and  ascension  together, 
as  though  his  ascension  began  in  his  rising  from  the 
grave,  and  finished  in  his  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father.  So  in  Philippians  :  "  He  was  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross :  wherefore  God 
hath  highly  exalted  him."  "  This  Jesus  hath  God 
raised  up,"  says  the  apostle  at  the  Pentecost,  "  whereof 
we  all  are  witnesses.  Therefore,  being  by  the  right 
hand  of  God  exalted,  ....  he  hath  shed  forth  this," 
manifestly  from  his  throne  ;  and  in  his  first  epistle  he 
says  that,  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  are 


446  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.       [Lect.  XX. 

begotten  to  a  lively  liope  of  our  heavenly  inheritance. 
If  a  view  we  took  of  the  matter  in  our  study  of  the  last 
Lord's  Day  be  correct,  oiu'  Lord  ascended  to  his  Father 
immediately  after  he  arose,  though  for  obvious  reasons 
he  returned  at  intervals  to  show  himself  to  his  disciples, 
and  to  make  a  formal,  visible  ascension  at  the  end  of 
forty  days.  Certainly,  the  apostle  Paul  teaches  that 
there  will  be  no  such  interval  (as,  indeed,  there  is  no 
reason  for  it)  between  the  rising  of  the  saints,  and  their 
reception  into  glory  :  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we 
shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  at  the  last  trump."  The  change  spoken  of  is 
into  glory.  So  again  :  "  The  Lord  himself  shall  de- 
scend from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the 
archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God  ;  and  the  dead 
in  Christ  shall  rise  first :  then  we  which  are  alive  and 
remain  (that  is,  those  Christians  who  shall  be  living  at 
the  time)  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air :  so  shall  we  be  ever 
with  the  Lord."  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  for  us  not 
to  connect  closely  our  glorification  with  our  resurrec- 
tion. The  resurrection  promised  us  is  not  a  renewal 
of  our  animal  life,  nor  a  life  to  be  spent  upon  earth, 
even  in  part,  but  an  instant  and  full  entrance  to 
heaven,  of  which  our  Lord's  ascension  was  both  type 
and  assurance. 

He  died  and  was  buried,  not  as  an  individual  man, 
but  as  the  recognized  head  of  his  church  ;  and,  there- 
fore, he  arose  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  the  head 
of  his  church,  in  which  capacity  he  also  ascended  to 
heaven  and  now  reigns  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
But  if  the  head  ascends,  the  body  ascends  with  it. 
Thus  I  find  that  the  Latin  translators  of  the  Catechism 


Li;oT.  XX.]  THE  RESURRECTION   OF  CHRIST.  447 

insert  the  word  "  Head  "  here  :  "  The  resurrection  of 
Christ  our  Head  is  a  sure  pledge  of  our  blessed  resur- 
rection." All  who  by  faith  die  with  him,  shall,  through 
the  indissolubleness  of  their  vital  union  to  him,  rise 
with  him,  that,  as  they  have  partaken  of  his  shame,  they 
may  partake  of  his  glory.  The  consummation  of  this 
privilege  is  for  wise  reasons  delayed,  but  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  is  the  assurance  of  its  certaint}''.  For  as 
without  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we  should  have  no 
proof  that  he  is  the  Saviour,  so  except  we  shall  be 
raised  we  can  have  no  salvation. 

The  soul  of  the  believer  could  not  at  death  enter 
heaven  unless  it  was  made  certain  that  in  due  time  his 
body  should  be  raised  also.  For  the  soul  of  the  man 
is  not  the  man  ;  neither  is  the  body  of  a  man,  the  man  : 
the  man  is  not  perfect,  the  whole  man  is  not  saved, 
except  he  be  saved  soul  and  body.  The  curse  of  death 
fell  upon  man,  both  soul  and  body ;  the  grace  of  eter- 
nal life  through  the  second  Adam  is  given  to  the  be- 
liever, both  soul  and  body.  The  Son  of  God,  when  he 
came  to  be  incarnate  as  our  Surety,  took  to  himself  a 
human  body  and  soul,  else  would  he  not  have  been  a 
man  :  so  he  suffered  for  us  the  pains  of  the  curse  in 
both  his  body  and  his  soul ;  and  so  he  rose  as  our 
Surety,  having  accomplished  the  atonement,  both  body 
and  soul.  So,  also,  because  of  his  acknowledged  satis- 
faction, shall  we  who  believe  in  him  be  redeemed,  body 
and  soul,  and  raised  to  the  blessedness  where  he  is. 
Thus  the  apostle  :  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead, 
and  become  the  first-fruits  of  them  that  slept.  For  since 
by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive.     But  every  man  (each)  in  his 


448  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.  XX. 

own  order :  Christ  the  first-fruits  ;  afterward  they  that 
are  Christ's  at  his  coming."  The  argument  is  brief,  but 
conclusive.  Other  questions  on  this  doctrine  will  be 
discussed,  when  we  come  to  the  article  on  tlie  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body. 

For  the  present  let  us  rejoice  that  "  this  mortal  shall 
put  on  immortality,  and  this  corruption,  incorruption." 
Our  life  is  brief,  so  was  our  Lord's  ;  it  is  full  of  sorrows, 
but  his  incomparably  fuller  ;  it  is  racked  with  pain,  but 
never  so  exquisite  and  manifold  as  his ;  it  is  worse  than 
grief  and  torture,  it  is  polluted  with  sin,  and  there  we 
are  unlike  him,  the  holy,  harmless,  and  undefiled  ;  it 
ends  with  agony  and  death  and  the  grave,  and  to  the 
close  we  may  track  his  blood-stained  footsteps.  But  this 
is  not  all  of  life  :  Christ  has  risen  to  a  life  eternal,  heav- 
enly, holy,  and  blest.  So  shall  all  his  people  live,  where 
sin  or  sorrow  or  pain  or  death  can  reach  them  no  more 
forever. 

O  beloved  friends,  shall  all  of  us  have  part  in  that 
blessed  resurrection  ?  Have  we  all  been  crucified  with 
Christ  ?  Have  we  all  been  converted,  are  we  all  sanc- 
tified to  newness  of  life  ?  Have  we  all  set  our  affec- 
tions beyond  and  far  above  this  world,  where  Christ 
sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  ?  O  let  us  see  to  it 
that  we  are  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise  ; 
for  a  new  heart,  and  a  Christian  life  here,  is  the  only 
earnest  of  a  glorious  life  hereafter. 

O  remember  (God,  for  his  Son's  sake,  make  us  all 
remember  I)  that  there  is  also  a  resurrection  unto  dam- 
nation, and  that  all  who  are  not  Christ's  in  faith,  certi- 
fied by  practice,  pass  through  death  and  the  grave  into 
the  second  death,  and  hell,  from  which  there  is  no  re- 
turn forever  !     It  is  a  terrible  alternative  !     Save  us, 


Lect.  XX.]         THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  4-19 

O  heavenly  Father !  Save  us,  O  Holy  Spirit !  Save 
us,  O  Jesus  Christ !  Standing  beside  the  broken  tomb 
of  the  crucified,  and  looking  up  through  the  rent  vail 
to  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  we  pray,  Save  us 
fi'om  eternal  death  ! 


29 


LECTURE  XXL 
THE  ASCENSION   OF  CHRIST. 


EIGHTEENTH  LORD'S  DAY. 
THE   ASCENSION   OF   CHRIST. 

"  He  ascended  into  heaven." 

Quest.  XLVI.     Eow  dost  thou  understand  these  icords :  " /7e  ascended  into 

heaven  ? " 
Ans.     That  Christ,  in  sight  of  his  disciples,  was  taken  up  fi-om  earth  into 
heaven  ;  and  that  he  continues  there  for  our  interest,  until  he  come 
again  to  judge  the  quick  and  dead. 
Quest.  XLVII.     Is  not  Christ  then  loith  us,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  as  he 

hath  promised  f 
Ans.     Christ  is  very  man  and  very  God;  with  respect  to  his  human  nature 
he  is  no  more  on  earth,  but  with  respect  to  his  Godhead,  majesty, 
grace,  and  Spirit,  he  is  at  no  time  absent  from  us. 
Quest.  XLVIII.     But  if  Ms  human  nature  is  not  present  wherever  Ms  God- 
head is,  are  not  then  these  two  natures  in  Christ  sep>arated  from  one 
another  f 
Ans.    Not  at  all;  for  since  the  Godhead  is  incomprehensible  and  omni- 
present, it  must  necessarily  follow  that  the  same  is  not  limited  with  the 
human  natur.e  he  assumed,  and  j-et  remains  personally  united  to  it. 
Quest.  XLIX.     Of  what  advantage  to  us  is  ChrisVs  ascension  into  heaven  f 
Ans.     First,  that  he  is  our  advocate  in  the   presence   of  his  Father  in 
heaven  ;  secondly,  that  we  have  our  flesh  in  heaven,  as  a  sure  pledge 
that  he,  as  the  Head,  will  also  take  up  to  himself  us,  his  members; 
thirdly,  that  he  sends  us  his  Spirit  as  an  earnest  by  whose  power  we 
seek  the  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  and  not  things  on  earth. 

A  LTHOUGH  Christ's  satisfaction  for  his  people  was 
-^  complete  when  on  the  cross  he  said,  "  It  is  finislied ! " 
and  bowed  his  head  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  although 
its  completeness  was  certified  by  his  resurrection,  which 
showed  that  death  had  no  power  over  him,  there  re- 
mained yet  much  to  be  accomplished  by  him  for  the 
full  redemption  of  his  church  in  glory  ;  and  since  he 


454  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XXT. 

came  from  the  bosom  of  his  Father,  it  was  necessary 
to  the  manifestation  of  his  consummate  acceptance  as 
our  mediatorial  Head  that  he  should,  according  to  his 
own  word,  "  ascend  up  where  he  was  before."  Hence 
the  ascension  of  Christ  into  heaven  is  a  most  important 
and  edifying  article  of  our  Christian  belief.  Indeed, 
except  we  rightly  understand  and  personally  apprehend 
the  doctrine  of  this  great  fact,  it  is  impossible  to  enjoy 
the  best  comforts  of  our  holy  religion,  or  to  acquire  the 
divine  strength  essential  for  our  perseverance  in  a 
Christian  life.     May  God  help  us  in  our  piovis  study  ! 

Our  church,  in  the  lesson  of  the  Catechism  to-day, 
supplies  us  with  an  excellent  method  of  thought,  which, 
by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  shall  endeavor  to 
follow. 

First  :  Tlie  fact  of  our  Lor<Ts  ascension  (46th  Ques. 
and  Ans.),  ivitli  some  explanations  (47th,  48th). 

Secondly  :   The  advantage  it  is  to  us  (49th). 

First  :   The  fact  of  our  Lord's  ascension  into  heaven. 

The  testimony  recorded  by  the  evangelical  writers  is 
abundantly  sufficient  for  our  faith. 

The  evangelist  Mark  declares  (xvi.  19),  that  after 
Jesus  "  had  spoken  "  unto  his  disciples,  "  he  was  re- 
ceived up  into  heaven,  and  sat  on  the  right  hand  of 
God."  The  evangelist  Luke,  in  the  last  chapter  of  his 
Gospel,  and  the  first  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  gives 
a  particular  account  of  the  event.  He  ascended  in 
full  view  of  the  eleven,  and,  probably,  of  the  pious 
women,  his  mother,  and  some  of  his  believing  kins- 
men (Acts  i.  13,  14).  After  a  cloud  had  received 
him  out  of  their  sight,  two  angels  appeared,  declaring 
that  he  had  been  taken  up  into  heaven  (11th).  Stephen, 
the  protomartyr,  at  his  death,  (vii.  56,)  and  Paul  at 


Lect.  XXI.]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  455 

his  conversion,  (ix.  1-lT,)  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  in  heaven, 
as  also  did  John  in  the  apocalyptic  vision  (Rev.  i.  13-18). 
The  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  the  Pentecost  con- 
firms it,  when  we  compare  the  prophecy  (Ps.  Ixviii. 
18) :  "  Thou  hast  ascended  on  high  ;  thou  hast  led  cap- 
tivity captive  ;  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men ;  yea, 
for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the  Lord  God  might  dwell 
among  them  ; "  with  the  apostle  Peter's  declaration 
(Acts  ii.  33)  :  "  Therefore  (Jesus)  being  by  the  right 
hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father 
the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  hath  shed  forth  this 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear ;  "  and  also  that  of  the 
apostle  Paul  (Ephes.  iv.  7,  8)  :  "  Unto  every  one  of 
us  is  given  grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift 
of  Christ  (that  is,  the  Spirit).  Wherefore  he  saith, 
When  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive, 
and  gave  gifts  unto  men." 

The  time  of  our  Lord's  ascension  was  forty  days 
after  he  had  risen  from  the  dead,  he  having  been  with 
his  disciples  repeatedly  during  that  interval,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  proving  to  them  his  resurrection,  teaching  them 
more  fully  his  doctrine,  and  giving  them  directions  how 
they  should  serve  him  after  his  departure.  Why  this 
interval  was  forty  days  we  are  not  told.  Moses  was 
the  same  time  in  the  mount  a-fter  he  had  brought  down 
the  moral  law,  which  had  the  sentence  of  death,  while 
receiving  the  typical  law,  which  foreshadowed  the  king 
dom  of  Christ  (Ex.  xxiv.  18).  Elijah  travelled  forty 
days  in  the  strength  of  the  food  brought  him  by  the 
angel,  until  he  reached  Horeb,  where  he  heard  Jehovah 
in  the  still  small  voice,  the  type  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (1 
Kings  xix.  5-12).  Jesus  himself  fasted  forty  days 
between  his  unction  and  his  triumph  over  the  tempter ; 


456  THE  ASCENSION   OF  CHRIST.         [Lect.   XXI. 

and  several  other  instances  show  that  to  have  been  a 
period  often  fixed  by  God,  doubtless  for  wise  reasons. 
But  the  most  interesting  parallel  is  the  forty  days  from 
his  birth  to  his  presentation  in  the  temple  (compare 
Luke  ii.  22,  with  Leviticus  xii.  2,  4,  6).  "  So,"  as  our 
Witsius  observes,  "  on  the  fortieth  day  after  his  resur- 
rection, which  was  a  second  nativity,  he  went  to  appear 
before  his  heavenly  Father  in  the  temple  not  made  with 
hands."  The  time  was  long  enough  for  the  purposes 
to  which  he  put  it,  but  brought  to  a  close  the  moment 
when  the  disciples  showed  a  supposition  that  he  was 
about  establishing  a  temporal  kingdom  on  earth : 
"  Lord,"  said  they,  "  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel  ?  "  — and  immediately  after  he  had 
answei'ed  them,  referring  to  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  while 
they  beheld  "  he  was  taken  up  "  (Acts  i.  6-9).  In 
the  course  of  these  forty  days  he  appeared,  as  recorded 
by  the  evangelists,  at  least  eight  times,  and  the  disciples 
had  the  most  convincing  proof  of  his  having  risen 
bodily  from  the  grave. 

The  place  from  which  he  ascended  was  Bethany  :  not 
the  village,  as  that  was  fifteen  furlongs  from  Jerusalem, 
and  he  would  hardly  have  chosen  a  spot  where  there 
must  have  been  many  unbelieving  spectators  ;  but  the 
district  of  Bethany,  which  lay  on  the  near  side  of 
Mount  Olivet,  adjoining  the  district  of  Bethphage,  and 
about  a  mile,  or  a  Sabbath-day's  journey,  from  Jerusa- 
lem (Acts  i.  12;  Luke  xxiv.  50,  51;  John  xi.  18). 
"  He  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany  ;  "  that  is,  to  the 
spot  where  the  district  began.  The  Mount  of  Olives, 
and  the  district  of  Bethany  in  particular,  were  dear  to 
Jesus  from  many  delightful  associations ;  and,  if  we 
adopt  the  etymology  which  makes  Bethany  signify  the 


Lect.  XXL]  THE  ASCEKSION  OF  CHRIST.  457 

place  of  sorrow,  there  is  an  eloquent  fitness  in  his  as- 
cension thence  from  onr  sorrowful  earth  to  his  heaven 

of  joy. 

He  actually  ascended.  It  was  no  vision  ;  in  the  clear 
daylight,  the  disciples  saw  him  parted  from  them,  and 
going  up  through  the  atmosphere. 

God  the  Father,  by  the  efficient  Spirit,  took  him  up. 
It  is  probable  that  he  was  borne  aloft  by  invisible 
angels,  as  by  those  ministering  spirits  God  executes  his 
works ;  yet  we  are  right,  also,  in  saying  that  he  went 
up,  or  ascended,  by  his  own  power,  —  the  power  of  his 
personal  divinity,  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within 
him,  and  the  power  which  he  had,  by  prerogative  of  his 
mediatorship,  purchased  by  his  accepted  atonement. 

He  went  up  body  as  well  as  spirit.  He  carried  his 
entire  humanity  up  with  him ;  the  very  humanity 
which  had  been  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  which  had 
gone  through  the  sorrows,  duties,  and  temptations  of 
our  mortal  life  ;  which  had  been  "  crucified,  dead,  and 
buried."  This  we  know  from  many  scriptures,  as 
(Heb.  iv.  14)  where  it  is  said  that  Jesus  (our  Lord's 
name  as  the  Son  of  Man),  "  our  great  High  Priest," 
"  has  passed  into  the  heavens."  Again  (x.  12)  :  "  This 
man  (that  is,  this  very  same  person),  after  he  had  of- 
fered one  sacrifice  for  sins,  forever  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  God."  Again  (19,  20)  :  "  Having,  therefore, 
brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus  by  a  new  (freshly  slain)  and  living  way, 
which  he  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  the  vail,  that 
is  to  say,  his  flesh,"  etc.  His  recently  slain  yet  living 
flesh  is  the  way  into  the  holiest  (the  presence  of  God), 
which  he  has  consecrated  for  us,  by  which  to  pass 
through  the  vail.     The  same  is  taught  by  those  pas- 


458  THE  ASCENSION   OF  CHKIST.         [Lect.  XXI. 

sages  which  assert  that  the  glorified  body  of  the  second 
Adam,  our  Redeemer,  is  the  pattern  and  earnest  of  the 
glory  that  will  invest  the  heavenly  bodies  of  his  saints 
(1  Cor.  XV.  42-49  ;  Phil.  iii.  21). 

He  went  up  into  heaven.  Heaven  is  the  place  or 
state  where  God  dwells  in  his  highest,  most  resplendent 
glory.  The  Jews  supposed  that  heaven  was  supernal, 
or  beyond  the  earth's  atmosphere,  and  the  language  of 
Scripture  is  in  accordance  with  their  opinion.  Thus, 
from  every  part  of  the  earth's  surface,  the  way  to 
heaven  is  upward.  It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  heaven, 
as  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  seems  to  have 
descended,  meeting  the  Lord  as  he  rose.  "  A  cloud 
received  him  out  of  their  sight "  (Acts  i.  9)  ;  not  a 
dark  cloud,  that  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  the 
purport  of  the  scene ;  but,  probably,  as  the  early 
church  believed,  a  bright  cloud,  like  the  Shekinah,  or 
that  on  Tabor,  (Matt.  xvii.  5,)  or  the  light  to  which  no 
man  can  approach,  within  whose  brightness  the  king 
immortal  dwells  (1  Tim.  vi.  16).  We  may  compare 
this  Avitli  Psalm  xviii.  9  :  "  He  bowed  the  heavens 
also,  and  came  down  ; "  and  many  other  scriptures 
which  show  that  when  God  makes  a  special  manifesta- 
tion of  his  presence,  he  depresses  heaven  towards  the 
earth,  as  now  he  met  Jesus  in  the  air. 

Thus  our  incarnate  Lord  ascended  into  heaven,  to 
his  Father's  immediate  presence,  for  us  ;  "  higher  than 
the  heavens,"  "  above  all  heavens,"  "  through  the 
heavens  ;  "  that  is,  to  the  very  highest  seat  of  the  maj- 
esty on  high ;  not  only  entering  the  glory,  but  himself 
glorified  in  it.  As  we  read  in  a  former  part  of  the 
gospel  (John  vii.  39)  :  "  The  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet 
given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified;  "  and 


Lect.  XXL]  THE  ASCENSION   OF   CHRIST.  459 

he  prayed  before  his  passion  :  "  I  have  glorified  thee  on 
earth ;  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me 
to  do.  And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with 
thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  world  was."  To  such  a  height  of  divine 
glory  did  Jesus  carry  our  human  nature  with  him. 

The  47th  and  48th  questions  and  answers  are  in- 
tended to  meet  certain  objections  supposed  to  be  made 
against  the  true  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  person,  and 
have  reference  to  an  opinion  held  by  the  Papists  and 
some  others,  especially  among  the  followers  of  Luther, 
that  the  Saviour's  humanity  may  be  omnipresent,  as  in 
the  bread  and  wine  of  the  sacrament,  which  they  con- 
tend is  transubstantiated  to,  or  consubstantiated  with, 
his  body.  These  ubiquitarians  (as  they  are  called,  from 
uhique,  everywhere)  cite  in  support  of  their  notion  the 
promise  of  our  Lord  to  the  church  :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  How,  say 
they,  can  Christ  be  with  his  people,  if  he  be  not  per- 
sonally everywhere  ?  And  since  it  is  admitted  on  all 
hands  that  his  divinity  is  omnipresent,  how  can  his 
humanity  be  united  to  his  divinity,  if  it  be  not  omni- 
present also  ?  Or  how,  if  this  be  not  so,  can  Christ 
"fill  all  things,"  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
apostle  Paul  ?  To  all  this  our  church  most  conclu- 
sively answers  by  saying  that  our  Lord,  being  both  God 
and  man,  is,  indeed,  present  with  us  in  his  divine  na- 
ture, especially  by  his  power,  grace,  and  Holy  Spirit ; 
but  that  his  human  nature,  being  essentially  limited, 
cannot  be  with  us  on  earth  while  it  is  in  heaven.  Nor 
does  this  bring  into  doubt  the  unity  of  his  person,  since 
he  assumed  the  human  nature  to  his  divinity  ;  his  hu- 
manity continuing  finite,  else  it  ceases  to  have  a  main 


460  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XXI. 

quality  of  humanity,  the  divinity  continuing  infinite, 
else  it  ceases  to  be  divine.  For  when  it  is  said  that 
God  dwells  in  the  flesh,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  the 
divine  nature  is  circumscribed  by  the  human,  but  that 
it  manifests  itself  through  the  finite  nature  thus  ad- 
joined. The  divinity  is  ever  present  with  the  human- 
ity ;  but  the  humanity  is  not  everywhere  present  with 
the  divinity.  Thus  our  Lord  expressly  said  to  his  dis- 
ciples :  "  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away :  for  if 
I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ; 
but,  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  Christ  did 
go  away  ;  his  disciples  saw  his  human  nature  ascend  into 
heaven  ;  and  afterward  at  the  Pentecost  he  did  send,  as 
since  he  has  continued  to  send,  his  Holy  Spirit  from 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  Nay,  on  any  other 
ground,  what  can  be  the  meaning  of  those  many  texts 
which  promise  that  Christ  Avill  come  again  to  judge  the 
world,  and  to  receive  his  people  to  himself,  that  where 
he  is  they  may  be  also  ? 

Secondly  :  Tlie  advantage  to  us  of  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion (49th). 

As  we  had  occasion  to  say  when  treating  of  our 
Lord's  resurrection  from  the  dead,  we  must,  as  the 
Scripture  teaches  us,  consider  the  resurrection  complete 
in  the  ascension  to  glory.  He  came  from  heaven  to 
accomplish  the  atonement  in  his  death  ;  therefore,  his 
assumption  from  death  to  heaven  proved  that  his  vica- 
rious righteousness  was  complete  and  accepted.  Noting 
this  point  we  pass  to  those  of  the  Catechism,  which  are 
three. 

1.  Christ  is  our  advocate  in  the  presence  of  his 
Father  in  heaven. 

This  advocacy,  or  pleading  on  behalf  of  his  people. 


Lkct.  XXL]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  461 

we  are  told  by  many  scriptures,  especially  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  is  a  large  part  of  Christ's  office  in 
heaven.  The  Jewish  high  priest,  the  accurate  type 
of  Christ,  once  a  year,  after  he  had  oifered  on  the  altar 
the  great  sacrifice  of  atonement,  also  a  direct  type  of 
the  suffering  Saviour,  passed  within  the  vail  that  ex- 
cluded all  but  himself  from  the  Holy  of  Holies  ;  bear- 
ing with  him  some  of  the  victim's  blood,  wliich  he 
sprinkled  on  the  propitiatory,  or  mercy-seat,  that  cov- 
ered in  tlie  ark  the  law  broken  by  sin  ;  and,  having 
thus  presented  the  sign  of  atonement  in  the  presence 
of  Jehovah,  he  then  and  there  made  intercession  for 
the  people  whom  he  represented.  Let  us  also  connect 
with  this  the  memorable  fact  that,  at  the  dedication  of 
the  first  temple,  the  type  of  the  true  church,  "  fire  came 
down  from  heaven  and  consumed  the  burnt-offering 
and  the  sacrifices,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  (that  vis- 
ible glory  which  symbolized  the  spiritual  presence  of 
Jehovah)  filled  the  house,"  and  so  consecrated  it  as  his 
own.  Thus,  when  our  great  High  Priest  Jesus  had 
completed  his  atonement  for  us,  he  carried  with  him 
into  the  highest,  holiest  heavens  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  God,  —  not  merely  his  blood,  for  that  was  the 
sign  of  a  dead  sacrifice ;  but  —  his  reanimated,  immortal 
body  which  had  been  sacrificed  on  the  cross,  God  rend- 
ing the  vail  before  him  and  leaving  it  rent,  in  token 
that  all  may  draw  nigh  through  him  ;  and  there,  not 
like  his  sinful  type  pleading  as  a  suppliant,  but  as  the 
Son  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father,  claiming 
the  covenanted  prerogatives  of  his  mediatorship,  he 
asked,  and,  blessed  be  his  name !  ever  liveth  to  ask  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  seal  forgiveness  and  adop- 
tion on  the  hearts  of  his  people  as  the  divine  assurance 


462  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XXI. 

that  his  ransomed  church  is  accepted  and  consecrated 
of  God  for  his  sake.  The  typical  sacrifice  was  offered 
repeatedly,  because  it  was  only  a  type  ;  the  typical 
high  priest  entered  the  Holy  of  Holies  every  year, 
because  he  was  only  a  type  ;  but  our  true  Sacrifice, 
having  offered  himself  once  for  all,  rose  from  the  dead 
because  his  atonement  was  infinitely  sufficient ;  and  our 
true  High  Priest  having  entered  heaven  to  receive  the 
blessings  of  his  purchase,  "  forever  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  from  henceforth  expecting  till  his  enemies 
be  made  his  footstool ;  for  by  one  offering  he  hath  per- 
fected forever  them  that  are  sanctified."  Hence  the 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  —  which  had  not  before 
been  given,  or  given  only  in  preliminary  drops,  because 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified  —  upon  the  church  at  the 
Pentecost  when  Jesus  was  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted ;  and  hence,  because  he  continues  in  his  glory, 
the  grace  from  on  high  continues  to  descend,  and  will 
continue  until  his  whole  ransomed  church  is  complete 
in  glory  like  himself.  Yes,  dear  Christians,  the  ascen- 
sion of  our  faithful  Lord,  of  which  we  have  proof  in 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  to  us  a  demonstration 
that  we  have  an  advocate  on  high,  who  will  not  forget 
those  whom  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  his  brethren,  who 
will  ask  for  us  all  that  we  need  ;  and  who  can  never 
ask,  as  our  necessities  can  never  require,  more  than  his 
merits  deserve  or  his  almighty  Father  will  delight  to 
give.  The  vail  is  rent ;  and  though  our  mortal  eyes 
cannot  pierce  the  invisible  world,  our  faith  sees  Jesus, 
our  head,  on  his  peerless  throne.  Let  us  then  exult 
with  the  apostle  and  say  to  each  other,  as  he  said  to 
the  Hebrew  Christians  :  "  Having,  therefore,  brethren, 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  Holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus, 


Lect.  XXL]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  463 

by  a  new  and  living  way,  which  he  hath  consecrated 
for  us,  through  the  vail,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh  ;  and, 
having  an  High  Priest  over  the  house  of  God,  let  us 
draw  near  with  a  true  heart  in  full  assurance  of  faith." 
The  weak  prayers  which,  rising  from  our  sinful  hearts, 
a  just  God  would  not  listen  to,  can  reach  the  ear  of 
our  sympathizing  brother  ;  and  he,  combining  with  them 
his  mediatorial  right  and  divine  eloquence,  will  make 
them  infallibly  prevalent.  None  can  fail  who  plead 
through  Christ. 

2.  "  We  have  our  flesh  in  heaven,  as  a  sure  pledge 
that  he  as  the  head  will  also  take  up  to  himself  us,  his 
members." 

Our  Lord,  as  we  have  seen,  actually  ascended  body 
and  soul  into  heaven,  and  there  he  now  lives,  a  perfect 
man,  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  As  truly  as  his  blessed 
body  was  born,  lived,  suffered,  died,  and  rose  again,  so 
truly  is  it  at  this  moment  in  heaven.  Hence  we  learn 
that  there  is  no  physical  reason  against  our  humanity 
beino-  received  into  heaven  and  livino;  there.  It  is  true, 
as  was  shown  in  our  last  lesson,  the  life  which  Christ 
has  had  since  his  resurrection,  differs  from  that  which 
he  had  before  his  death,  being  derived  not  from  birth 
of  a  woman,  but  from  the  immediate  power  of  God ; 
yet  his  human  nature  continued  unchanged  in  any 
essential  quality,  and  will  continue  the  same  forever. 
It  was  our  nature  he  had  on  earth,  it  is  our  nature  he 
has  in  heaven  ;  where  the  man  Christ  Jesus  lives  we 
may  live.  He  triumphantly  entered  heaven  not  for 
himself  alone :  as  the  eternal  Son  of  God  it  was  his 
by  original  right ;  but,  as  the  head  of  his  church,  the 
kinsman,  redeemer  of  his  people,  he  took  possession 
of  their  heavenly  inheritance,  "  which  hope,"  says  the 


4(54  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XXI. 

apostle  to  the  Hebrews,  meaning  the  hope  of  heaven, 
"  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  stead- 
fast, and  which  entereth  into  that  within  the  vail ; 
whither  the  forerunner  is  for  us  entered,  even  Jesus, 
made  an  High  Priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chizedec."  The  sublime  elevation  of  Christ  has  not 
separated  him  from  his  people.  He  is  still  their  head, 
and  they  his  body.  He  still  represents  them  as  their 
champion,  advocate,  and  king.  "  Where  my  flesh 
reigns,  I  reign,"  says  Augustine.  As  in  his  death  our 
shame  was  upon  him,  so  in  his  majesty  his  glory  will  be 
upon  us.  "  I  go,"  said  he  to  his  disciples  as  the  time 
approached  when  he  should  be  received  up,  "to  prepare 
a  place  for  you  ;  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for 
you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  to  myself,  that 
where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also."  The  express  pur- 
pose for  which  he  ascended  was  to  prepare  places  for  us 
near  his  own,  and  his  purpose  would  fail  did  he  not  take 
up  to  himself  us,  his  members. 

And  here  I  cannot  deny  you,  or  myself,  the  pleasure 
of  enjoying  the  eloquence  of  Witsius,  whose  soul  burns 
with  more  than  seraphic  fire,  while  expatiating  on  this 
animating  theme.  "  It  was  important  to  Christ,  that 
he  should  possess  the  right  which  he  had  procured  for 
himself,  and  that,  having  valiantly  and  successfully 
overthrown  his  enemies,  he  should  be  carried  in  a  tri- 
umphal chariot,  and  amidst  the  shrieks  of  devils,  and 
the  acclamations  of  angels,  amidst  the  amazement  of  the 
wicked,  and  the  choruses  of  the  faithful,  make  a  glori- 
ous and  joyful  entry,  not  into  a  capitol  like  that  of 
Rome,  but  into  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  the  temple 
not  made  with  hands,  there  to  enjoy  a  delightful  rest 
after  the  long  travail  of   his  soul There  (also) 


Lect.  XXI.]  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  465 

had  he  to  set  up  his  chair  as  a  prophet,  that  he  might 
instruct  his  people  by  his  Spirit,  who  irradiates  their 
minds  from  above.  There  he  had  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  God  as  a  priest,  .  .  .  and  as  the  high  priest 
to  enter  within  the  vail  and  make  intercession  for  the 
people.  There  he  was  to  take  possession  of  the  throne 
of  his  kingdom,  that  he  might  hear  the  angels  around 
the  throne,  shouting  with  a  loud  voice :  '  Worthy  is 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing ; '  that,  looking  down  from  his  lofty  seat,  he 
might  laugh  at  the  impotent  rage  of  his  enemies,  and 
from  that  impregnable  fortress  afford  the  most  effectual 
succor,   and  liberally  bestow  the  richest  gifts  on  his 

saints Nor  can  any  one  of  them  fail  to  regard 

with  most  lively  interest  an  inauguration  of  their  king 
so  splendid,  and  a  triumph  of  their  champion  so  mag- 
nificent. What  can  be  more  delightful  for  them  than 
to  see  their  Lord,  Avho,  so  lately  overwhelmed  with  so 
many  waves  of  unparalleled  trouble  and  sorrow,  even 
to  the  very  abysses  of  hell,  now  shining  in  the  fresh 
splendor  of  a  spiritual  body,  exalted  far  above  the 
stormy  clouds  and  dreadful  thunders  ;  nay,  above  the 
sun  himself,  and  the  loftiest  of  the  stars,  made  higher 
than  all  heavens,  and  taking  possession  of  the  throne 
as  his  father's  equal,  amidst  the  congratulations  of  an- 
gels, and  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect !  .  .  . 
'  God  is  gone  up  with  a  shout ;  Jehovah  with  a  sound 
of  a  trumpet.  Sing  praises  to  God,  sing  praises.  Sing 
praises  to  our  king,  sing  praises.  For  God  is  the  king 
of  all  the  earth  ;  sing  ye  praises  with  understanding.'  " 

3.  "  He  sends  us  his  Spirit  as  an  earnest,  by  whose 
power   we  seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where 

VOL.  I.  30 


466  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XXI. 

Christ  sittetli  on  the  right  hand  of  (the  Father)  God, 
and  not  things  on  earth." 

We  liave  abeady  anticipated  mucli  of  this  head,  and 
seen  how  the  sending  of  the  Spirit  was,  and  continues 
to  be,  the  proof  and  assurance  of  Christ's  having  en- 
tered heaven  as  the  head  and  forerunner  of  his  peo- 
ple ;  for  he  had  said  :  "  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter 
will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send 
him  unto  you."  Yes,  dear  brethren,  none  of  us  may 
know  that  we  have  the  benefits  of  Christ's  ascension, 
unless  we  have  received  his  Spirit  into  our  hearts,  and 
are  conscious  of  its  sanctifying  and  elevating  influences. 
As  the  apostle  says  :  "  After  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the 
earnest  of  your  inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the 
purchased  possession,  unto  the  praise  of  his  glory."  By 
faith  we  die  with  Christ  in  his  crucifixion,  we  are 
quickened  to  a  new  life  with  Christ  in  his  resurrection, 
and  so  we  rise  heavenward  with  Christ  in  his  ascension. 
So  again :  "  He  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made 
us  sit  together  in  Christ  Jesus."  Again  :  "  If  ye  then 
be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  that  are  above, 
where  Christ  sittetli  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  Set 
your  affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on  the 
earth.  For  ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God."  It  is  therefore  essential  to  a  spiritual 
following  of  Christ,  a  necessary  sign  of  our  fellowship 
with  him,  that  we  cherish  not  only  an  expectation,  but 
an  earnest,  longing,  increasing  desire  for  heaven.  The 
things  of  earth  are  a  snare  and  a  hurt,  except  as  we 
use  them  to  help  us  on  our  way  heavenward  ;  the  du- 
ties of  this  life  are  not  faithfully  performed,  except  as 
we   aim  in  them  to  fit  ourselves    through    grace   for 


Lect.  XXL]  THE  ASCENSION   OF  CHRIST.  467 

heaven  ;  nay,  the  rehgious  blessings  we  are  permitted 
to  enjoy  here,  fail  of  their  end  if  they  do  not  urge  us 
onward  to  a  full  fruition  in  heaven.  Our  Christian  life 
is  a  course  through  this  world,  which  we  are  to  run 
lookino;  unto  Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God.  The  mark  of  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  is  in 
heaven.  Nay,  it  is  the  hope  of  heaven  which  keeps 
our  souls  surely  and  steadfastly.  No  matter  what  other 
proofs  of  his  being  a  Christian  a  man  may  think  that 
he  has,  —  what  moral  virtues,  what  present  zeal,  what 
reverence  for  God  and  sacred  things  what  kindness 
and  faithfulness  to  his  fellow-men,  —  if  he  have  not  this 
longing  thirst  for  heaven,  he  should  doubt  his  Chris- 
tianity. The  regenerate  soul  can  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  short  of  awaking  with  the  divine  likeness.  We 
cannot  pray  aright  without  hoping  for  heaven,  for  there 
only  will  the  askings  of  a  pious  heart  be  fully  granted. 
We  cannot  give  thanks  aright  without  hoping  for 
heaven,  for  there  are  the  consummate  blessings  of  the 
Redeemer's  purchase.  We  cannot  serve  God  aright 
without  hoping  for  heaven,  for  there  only  is  our  faith- 
fulness to  be  acknowledged,  and  our  wages  paid.  Our 
hope  should  be  submissive,  and  our  longing  patient ;  we 
should  be  willing  to  remain  so  long  as  God  has  work 
for  us  here,  but  ever  with  a  yearning  sense  that  to  de- 
part and  be  with  Christ  is  far  better.  Grace  in  the 
heart  is  an  ascensive  power,  ever  lifting  its  desires 
upward  and  upward,  and  so  above  the  temptations  of 
time  and  earth.  We  can  never  drive  this  world  out 
of  our  hearts,  but  by  bringing  heaven  into  them.  And 
heaven  meets  our  affections  when  they  ascend,  as  it 
met  Jesus  ;  and  he  who  so  walks,  climbing  the  arduous 
way  from  the   valley  of  Baca   to   the  temple  on  the 


468  THE  ASCENSION  OF  CHRIST.  [Lect.  XXI. 

mount  (for  we  must  walk  until  we  get  our  wings  of 
angelic  strength),  will  so  approach  the  heavenly 
threshold,  as,  like  holy  Enoch,  he  can  cross  it  at  a 
step. 

Oh,  dear  friends,  what  an  advantage  have  they  whose 
Jesus  is  in  heaven,  over  those  first  disciples  when  they 
had  him  with  them  personally  on  earth.  They  were 
for  building  tabernacles  on  Tabor,  looking  for  a  tem- 
poral kingdom,  walking  by  sight  and  not  by  faith  ;  but 
our  Lord  now  above  draws  up  to  a  better,  higher,  holier 
home  our  aims,  our  desires,  and  our  love.  Have  they 
who  thus  believe  and  hope,  says  an  excellent  father  of 
our  own  church,  "  a  double  ensurance  of  heaven,  since 
they  have  their  nature  there  as  a  pledge,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  their  souls  as  an  earnest?  " 


LECTURE  XXII. 
CHEIST  ON  THE  THEONE  AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE. 


NINETEENTH  LORD'S   DAY. 

CHRIST   ON   THE   THRONE  AS  RULER 
AND   JUDGE. 

Quest.  L.     Why  is  it  added  "  and  siiteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  f  " 

Ans.  Because  Christ  is  ascended  into  heaven  for  this,  and  that  he  might 
there  appear  as  head  of  his  church  by  whom  the  Father  governs  all 
things. 

Quest.  LI.     What  profit  is  this  glory  of  Christ,  our  head,  unto  us  ? 

Ans.  First,  that  by  his  Holy  Spirit  he  poureth  out  heavenly  graces  upon 
us  as  his  members ;  and  then  that  by  his  power  he  defends  and  pre- 
serves us  against  all  enemies. 

Quest.  LIT.  What  comfort  is  it  to  thee  that  Christ  "shall  come  again  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  deadV 

Ans.  That  in  all  my  sorrows  and  persecutions,  with  uplifted  head,  I  look 
for  the  very  same  person  who  before  oifered  himself  for  my  sake  to  the 
tribunal  of  God,  and  hath  removed  all  curse  from  me,  to  come  as  judge 
from  heaven;  who  shall  cast  all  his  and  my  enemies  into  everlasting 
condemnation,  but  shall  translate  me  with  all  his  chosen  ones  to  him- 
self, into  heavenly  joys  and  glory. 

THE  assumption  of  Christ  Jesus  into  heaven  testified 
the  divine  approval  of  his  work  on  earth,  as  his 
uprising  from  the  dead  demonstrated  the  sufficiency  of 
his  pxpiation.  The  only  begotten  Son  of  God  had  been 
sent  from  heaven  into  the  world  to  provide  a  righteous- 
ness for  our  justification  through  faith  ;  and  when  that 
end  was  fulfilled,  he  returned  whence  he  came.  Bu 
not  as  he  came  forth  did  he  return  to  heaven.  In  order 
to  accomplish  his  vicarious  righteousness,  he  had  as- 
sumed a  human  nature  like  our  own,  and  made  it  one 
person  with  his  adorable  divinity.  In  that  human 
nature  he  had  humbled  himself  as  a  servant  obedient 
until  death,  "  despised  and  rejected  of  men,"  "  stricken, 


472  CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXH 

smitten  of  God  and  afflicted,"  oppressed  to  the  lowest 
ignominy  of  torture  by  the  malice  of  the  world,  to  the 
deepest  reproach  and  pains  of  hell  both  in  body  and 
soul  on  the  tree  of  the  cross  by  the  justice  of  his  Father ; 
and  all  this  that  he  might  bear  away  our  shame,  mag- 
nify and  honor  the  law  which  we  had  broken,  expiate 
the  guilt  we  had  incurred,  and  lift  up  from  the  ruin  sin 
had  brought  upon  them,  those  whom  he  accepted  as 
brethren  when  he  became  "  the  seed  of  the  woman." 
Therefore,  when  his  vicarious  merit  was  complete,  and 
the  crucified  had  by  a  divine  life  "  conquered  death  and 
him  that  had  the  power  of  death,"  "  having  obtained 
eternal  redemption  for  us,"  he  did  not  forsake  the  nature 
he  had  loved  so  well,  but  bore  aloft  through  the  rent 
skies  the  body  and  soul  he  had  made  his  own  by  a 
union  personal  and  indissoluble.  He  entered  heaven 
as  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  but  also  as  the  Son 
of  man  ;  coequal  with  the  Father,  yet  our  elder 
brother,  the  Emmanuel  claiming  his  divine  right,  the 
mediator  claiming  his  covenanted  reward,  the  forerun- 
ner claiming  the  inheritance  which  as  a  Son  was  his 
own,  and  in  which  he  had  associated  his  people  through 
the  adoption  they  receive  by  his  representation. 

But  the  Scriptures  declare  that  his  being  recei«ved 
into  heaven  was  not  enough  ;  and  when  our  faith  looks 
up  through  the  parted  vail,  we  see  that  he 

"  Sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God."  The  Catechism, 
also,  in  the  lesson  for  to-day  very  properly  unites  to  this 
article  of  our  creed  that  which  asserts 

"  From  thence  he  will  come  to  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead." 

Both  will,  with  divine  permission,  make  the  subject 
of  our  present  study. 


Lfxt.  XXII.]  AS   RULER  AND  JUDGE.  473 

The  Answer  to  the  50th  Question  gives  the  reason 
why  it  is  added  that  Christ  "  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 
of  God." 

The  51st  states  the  "  profit  which  this  glory  of 
Christ,  our  head,  is  unto  us." 

The  52d  declares  the  comfort  we  derive  from  the  fact 
that  Christ  "  shall  come  again  to  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead." 

We  shall  be  able  to  cover  all  this  ground,  and  with 
greater  convenience,  by  considering  the  several  topics 
under  three  heads : 

First  :  TJie  meaning  of  the  phrase,  '■'■lie  .  .  sitteth 
at  the  right  hand  of  Crody 

Secondly  :  The  reason  for  this  preeminent  glory  of 
Christ. 

Thirdly  :  The  comfort  which  the  believer  derives  from 
this  doctrine  of  our  Lord^s  exaltation. 

First  :  Tlie  meaning  of  the  phrase,  '-'■  He  .  .  sitteth 
at  the  right  hand  of  Grod.^'' 

1.  The  assignment  of  a  place  on  the  right  hand  of  a 
king  denotes  his  confidence  and  satisfaction  in  the  per- 
son so  honored.  Christ  "  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God."  The  Scripture  represents  that  it  is  God  in  his 
supreme  dignity  who  thus  honors  Christ.  The  Son, 
"  when  he  had  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,"  says  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews  ;  and  again  :  "  Looking  unto  Jesus  .  .  who 
...  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God ; "  which  fulfils  the  prophecy  :  "  The  Lord  said 
unto  my  Lord,  sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool."  This  implies  a  conferring 
of  authorit}^  with  the  honor,  as  when  a  king  elevates 
one    as   chief    minister   in   the   administration    of    his 


474  CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXIl. 

empire.  But  other  scriptures  show  that  more  is  in- 
tended tlian  a  place  beside  the  throne  on  its  right  hand. 
The  Son  sitteth  on  the  throne  itself  with  the  Father : 
"  Unto  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with 
me  on  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame  and  am  set 
down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne."  So,  also,  we 
behold  "  the  Lamb  in  the  midst "  "  of  the  great  white  " 
"  throne  ; "  and  the  river  of  life  issuing  from  "  the 
throne  of  the  Lord  God  almighty  and  the  Lamb." 
This  clearly  signifies  the  association  of  Christ  with  the 
Father  in  the  full  exercise  of  all  power  over  all  things, 
as  the  Master  says  :  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth." 

2.  The  vastness  of  the  power  thus  exercised  by  the 
Son  proves  him  to  be  truly  and  infinitely  God,  and 
therefore  coequal  to  the  Father  ;  for  what  less  than 
omnipresence,  omniscience,  and  omnipotence  were  equal 
to  the  administration  of  universal  empire?  So  we  read: 
"  Unto  the  Son,  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for 
ever  and  ever." 

3.  Yet,  while  such  dominion  belongs  unto  the  Son  by 
right  of  his  original  divinity,  the  phrase  "  on  the  right 
hand"  indicates  that  this  eminent  authority  has  been 
delegated.  It  is  the  Emmanuel,  the  Son  of  God  incar- 
nate, that  sits  on  the  throne,  and  we  know  that  the 
human  nature  neither  has  by  right,  nor  can  of  itself 
exercise  such  dominion.  Hence  we  are  told  that,  be- 
cause Christ  Jesus  "being  in  the  form  of  God  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  like- 
ness of  men ;  and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  until  death,  even 
the  death  of  the  cross,  .  .  God  also  hath  highly  ex- 
alted him  (the  God-man)  and  given  him  a  name  that 


Lect.  XXIL]  AS  EULER  AND  JUDGK  475 

is  above  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father." 

The  phrase  "  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father  almighty,"  signifies  the  elevation  by  God  the 
Father,  representing  the  Godhead,  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
Mediator,  representing  the  church,  to  the  glory  and 
power  of  a  universal  kingdom,  as  we  read  :  "  That  ye 
may  know  .  .  .  what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his 
power  to  usward  who  believe,  according  to  the  work- 
ing of  his  mighty  power,  which  he  wrought  in  Christ 
when  he  raised  him  from  the  dead  and  set  him  at  his 
own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all 
principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and 
every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but 
also  in  that  which  is  to  come :  and  hath .  put  all  things 
under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him 
that  filleth  all  in  all." 

Secondly  :  The  reason  for  this  preeminent  glory  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

1.  That  the  Father  might  manifest  to  all  intelligent 
creatures  his  infinite  appreciation  of  our  Lord's  media- 
torial work. 

The  redemption  of  sinners  was,  as  the  Scriptures 
assure  us,  purposed  and  planned  in  a  council  of  the 
ever-blessed  Trinity,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
each  adorable  person  taking  his  peculiar  part :  The 
Father  representing  and  vindicating  the  honor  of  the 
Godhead  which  had  been  treasonably  provoked  by  our 
sins  ;  the  Son  undertaking  to  magnify  the  broken  law 


476  CHRIST   ON   THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXII. 

and  satisfy  the  justice  of  the  law,  whose  sanctions  were 
eternal  life  as  the  reward  of  righteousness  alone,  and 
eternal  death  as  the  sure  penalty  of  disobedience  ;  the 
Holy  Ghost  promising  his  efficient  energies  to  make 
successful  all  the  means  employed  in  the  economy  of 
grace. 

This  redemption  is  the  highest  work  of  God,  infinitely 
transcending  all  his  other  works  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence, which  for  the  same  reason  are  made  subservient 
and  contributive  to  it.  There  God  has  his  highest  de- 
light, and  from  its  issues  he  looks  for  his  chiefest  praise. 
Hence  it  is  styled  emphatically  "  the  good  pleasure  of 
his  will ;  "  and  it  is  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace."  But  while  we  adore  with  equal  thanks  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  for  their  most 
merciful  offices  in  our  redemption,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
office  of  the  Father  and  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
necessarily  demand  a  perfect  discharge  of  the  office 
committed  to  the  Son.  His  vicarious  righteousness  is 
the  basis  of  the  Father's  choice  and  the  Spirit's  effi- 
ciency ;  for  the  Father  sends  the  Son  to  work  out  the 
atonement,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  applies  the  atonement 
to  the  salvation  of  the  church.  The  Father  "predes- 
tinates us  to  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ," 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  makes  us  "  accepted  in  the  be- 
loved." Now,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Son  having  become 
incarnate  had  fulfilled  all  righteousness,  made  an  infi- 
nitely sufficient  basis  for  our  atonement  (or  reconcilia- 
tion) with  God,  and  so  justified  the  mercy  of  God  in 
the  salvation  of  the  sinner  who  believes  on  Jesiis,  when 
he  finished  his  sacrifice  on  the  cross.  Therefore  was 
Jesus  Christ  his  only  begotten  Son,  in  whom  he  was 
well  pleased,  —  not  simply  as  his  only  begotten  Son,  — • 


Lect.XXIL]  as  ruler  AND  JUDGE.  477 

there  needed  no  work  of  righteonsness  to  recommend 
his  coequal  Son,  —  but  liis  only  begotten  Son,  the  in- 
carnate mediator  who  had  perfected  the  work  of  propi- 
tiation. The  only  begotten  had  taken  on  him  the  form 
of  a  servant,  in  our  nature  representing  us  ;  and  in  him, 
as  a  servant  representing  us,  is  he  well  pleased.  The 
Father  rejoices  over  him  as  the  magnifier  of  the 
divine  law,  the  satisfier  of  the  divine  justice,  the  justi- 
fier  of  the  divine  mercy ;  and  receives  him  back  to 
heaven  as  the  head  of  a  once  prodigal  race  that  was 
dead  but  is  alive  again,  that  was  lost  and  is  found. 
With  what  glory  shall  he  invest  this  well-beloved  Son 
less  than  the  robe  of  his  best  majesty  !  Wliat  place 
shall  he  assign  him  in  whom  he  is  so  well  pleased,  less 
than  a  seat  on  his  own  throne  !  What  reward  shall  he 
bestow  on  the  Propitiator  for  such  perfect  righteous- 
ness, less  than  the  administration  of  all  power  in  heaven 
and  in  earth  ! 

The  incarnate  Son,  in  the  execution  of  this  work,  had 
stooped  to  extreme  shame.  He  had  been  degraded  by 
poverty,  persecution,  and  contempt,  even  to  the  once 
infamous  cross ;  his  enemies  had  exulted  over  him  as 
he  lay  in  the  guarded  tomb  to  all  semblance  under  the 
grasp  of  "  him  that  had  the  power  of  death ;  "  men 
and  angels  had  seen  that  it  even  pleased  the  Father  to 
bruise  him  and  put  him  to  grief;  nay,  had  heard  his 
cry  of  anguish  and  desolation  come  from  the  thick 
darkness,  "  My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ! ' 
And  now  must  the  Father  show  by  a  glory  infinitely 
greater  than  the  ignominy,  how  much  he  delights  in  his 
faithful  servant ;  so  he  raises  him  from  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  earth,  where  he  was  stript  of  all  things,  to  the 
highest   seat  in   heaven,  that  he   may  fill    all   things. 


478  CHRIST  ON  THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXH. 

Therefore  the  glory  of  Christ  is  to  be  measured  only  by 
the  infinite  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  grace  ;  and  such 
the  manifestation  of  the  Father  to  the  man  whom  he 
delighteth  to  honor,  that  not  only  the  church  shall 
ascribe  unto  him  glory  and  dominion  forever  and  ever, 
"  but  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  earth 
and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all 
that  are  in  them,"  shall  say,  "  Blessing  and  honor  and 
glory  and  power  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever." 

2.  "That  he  might,"  says  the  Catechism,  "there 
appear  as  the  head  of  his  church,  by  whom  the  Father 
governs  all  thino;s." 

Let  us,  for  greater  convenience,  divide  this  sen- 
tence. 

a.  "  That  he  might  there  appear  as  the  head  of  his 
church." 

The  first  Adam  was  driven,  because  of  his  sin,  by 
avenging  angels,  from  the  presence  of  God  in  the  first 
paradise,  and  all  his  descendants  fallen  with  him  are  by 
nature  and  personal  guilt  in  the  same  state  of  condem- 
nation and  consequent  exclusion  from  the  divine  favor. 
Christ,  as  the  second  Adam,  had  undertaken  to  restore, 
by  his  representative  righteousness,  all  sinners  who  be- 
lieve on  his  name  to  the  privilege  and  blessedness  they 
had  lost.  As  Adam  was  the  head  of  his  race,  so  does 
Christ  act  as  the  head  of  his  church,  which  Isaiah  calls 
"  his  seed,"  "  the  travail  of  his  soul."  But  as  the 
vicarious  merit  of  the  mediator  is  infinitely  greater  than 
the  most  perfect  obedience  of  man  could  have  been, 
the  privilege  and  blessedness  purchased  by  him  must 
incomparably  transcend  what  had  been  lost.  Hence, 
the  state  of  the  church  in  the  divine  favor  cannot  now 


Lect.  XXII.]  AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE.  479 

be  adequately  shown  on  earth  ;  and  the  second  paradise 
is  opened  amidst  the  glories  of  the  divine  presence  in 
heaven.  Christ,  therefore,  having  risen  from  the  dead 
after  the  consummation  of  his  atonement,  remains  on 
earth  no  longer  than  was  required  to  confirm  the  fact 
of  his  resurrection,  but  ascends  with  his  human  body 
and  soul  to  take  possession  of  heaven  as  his  by  media- 
torial right.  He  enters  heaven  not  for  himself  alone, 
but  for  us  as  the  forerunner  of  his  church.  When  his 
pierced  feet  crossed  the  threshold  of  that  holy  place,  he 
demonstrated  that  all  who  believe  on  his  name  shall 
follow  in  his  majestic  steps,  and  that  the  whole  nature, 
body  and  soul  of  every  Christian,  shall  partake  of  the 
same  glory  with  which  his  humanity  is  now  invested. 
There  in  the  second  paradise,  where  the  tree  of  life 
offers  its  perpetual  fruits,  beside  the  river  of  the 
waters  of  life,  which  flows  from  out  the  throne  of 
the  Lord  God  almighty  and  the  Lamb,  shall  Jesus, 
our  surety,  forever  enjoy  the  reward  for  which  he 
endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  as  he  beholds 
all  his  ransomed  people  safe,  sinless,  and  happy  like 
himself. 

Nor  was  it  enough  for  this  that  he  should  merely 
enter  heaven.  The  angels  enjoy  heaven  as  the  con- 
comitant reward  of  their  unswerving  fidelity  ;  —  the 
divinely  incarnate  Son  who  had  not  only  accomplished 
an  infinite  merit  for  his  people,  but  also,  in  so  doing, 
fulfilled  the  highest  good  pleasure  of  the  Father,  must 
have  a  recompense  far  above  the  angel's  honor.  The 
only  begotten  Son  must  have  his  divine  place  on  his 
Father's  throne,  and  he  takes  his  seat  with  his  insepara- 
ble humanity  about  him,  the  Immanuel  in  whom  the 
Father  is  well  pleased.     The  ransomed  sinners,  in  all 


480  CHRIST   ON  THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXH 

their  multitudinous  numbers,  will  enjoy  heaven  as  the 
reward  of  his  imputed  righteousness,  but  he  is  the  head 
of  the  body  of  which  they  all  are  members,  and  it  is  his 
right  by  which  they  are  there  ;  therefore  must  it  ap- 
pear that  his  dignity  is  infinitely  preeminent ;  nay,  that 
he  is  Lord  of  heaven,  to  open  its  gates  and  its  treasures 
as  his  own  for  all  his  people.  He  reigns  for  us,  because 
he  reigns  in  our  flesh.  There  to  Christ  on  his  throne 
do  our  affections  follow  him,  for  there  "  all  the  articles 
of  our  faith  lead  us." 

h.  "  That  he  might  there  appear  as  the  head  of  his 
church,  hy  whom  the  Father  governs  all  things.''^ 

Though  the  merit  on  which  the  salvation  of  the 
church  was  finished  by  Jesus  Christ  when  he  died  upon 
the  cross,  his  work  as  our  Redeemer  will  not  be  accom- 
plished until  his  whole  church  —  every  one  of  his  ran- 
somed people  —  is  brought  home  to  the  glorious  house 
of  his  Father.  For  wise  reasons,  (elsewhere  treated 
of,)  this  process  is  gradual ;  gradual  in  each  believer, 
and  gradual  in  the  church.  There  is  a  severe  discipline 
through  which  the  grace  of  God  is  manifested  by  the 
experience  of  Christians  and  the  church  on  earth,  and 
by  which  they  are  to  be  prepared  for  the  holy  consum- 
mation of  heaven.  They  are  to  labor  in  services  like 
his,  for  which  their  strength  is  utterly  insufficient ;  they 
are  to  meet  difficulties  and  oppositions  and  delusions 
far  greater  than  their  own  power  and  skill  to  overcome. 
All  the  malice  of  the  world  and  hell  is  against  them. 
Yet  must  they  overcome.  Humanity  must  achieve  its 
own  triumphs.  All  things  were  put  under  man  at  the 
beginning,  and  all  things  must  be  again  put  under  him 
in  the  end.  The  restoration  else  were  not  complete. 
Now  we  see  not  all  things  put  under  the  church.     Her 


Lect.XXIL]  as  ruler  AND  JUDGE.  48;^ 

battle  is  fierce  and  obstinate.  "  But  we  see  Jesus,  our 
second  Adam,  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father," 
crowned  with  glory  and  honor.  God  has  put  all  things 
into  his  hands,  the  hands  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  All 
power  is  given  unto  him  in  heaven  and  earth,  not  as 
the  Son  of  God,  —  that  power  has  been  eternally  his  by 
right  of  his  original  divinity,  —  but  to  the  Son  of  God 
incarnate,  Jesus  Christ  as  the  head  of  his  church,  and 
for  the  benefit  of  his  church.  Nothing  less  than  his 
infinite  divinity  were  sufficient  to  exert  this  universal 
power,  but  he  exerts  it  through  his  humanity  as  the 
grand  type  of  regenerated,  glorified  man.  He  reigns 
as  the  second  Adam  by  the  power  of  his  godhead. 
All  providence,  therefore,  is  his  ;  all  things,  all  beings 
created,  all  events,  all  the  laws  of  nature,  all  the  affairs 
of  nations,  all  the  arts  and  sciences,  inventions  and  en- 
terprises of  men  are  so  ruled,  directed,  and  overruled 
by  him  as  to  assist  his  people  individually,  and  as  a 
church  in  their  struggles  onward  and  open  the  way  for 
their  final  triumph.  "  The  angels  "  who  constitute 
the  hosts  of  which  he  is  Lord,  are  "  all  ministering 
spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs 
of  salvation ;  "  even  the  devils,  also,  are  subject  unto 
him,  their  malice  being  restrained  and  their  ultimate 
defeat  made  certain,  for  "  he  must  reign  till  he  hath  put 
all  enemies  under  his  feet."  So  that  the  apostle  made 
no  vain  boast  when  he  said,  "  We  know  that  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,"  and 
that  all  things  are  theirs,  because  they  are  "  Christ's, 
and  Christ  is  God's."  The  fulness  of  the  church 
which  is  his  body,  is  the  fulness  of  Christ's  glory,  so 
hath  the  Father  put  all  things  under  his  feet  and  given 
him  to  be  head  over  all  things  to  his  church  that  he 

VOL.  I.  31 


482  CHRIST   ON   THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXII. 

may  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  fully  sat- 
isfied. 

3.  That  he  "  may  by  his  Holy  Spirit  pour  out  heav- 
enly graces  on  us  his  members." 

In  the  plan  of  redemption  the  Holy  Ghost  assumes 
the  office  of  rendering  effectual  the  work  of  Christ,  and 
hence  is  said  to  proceed  from  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
as  the  Son  from  the  Father.  When,  therefore,  the 
mediator  had  finished  his  meritorious  work,  he  took  his 
seat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  asked  and 
received  the  promised  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for 
the  carrying  out  of  his  redemption  to  its  entire  com- 
pletion. Hence  the  Holy  Ghost  is  said  to  be  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  and  he  is  said  to  send  the  Spirit  from  the 
Father  (John  xv.  26).  So  at  the  Pentecost  the  descent 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  proved  the  session  of  Christ  on  his 
thi'one  :  "  Therefore,"  said  the  apostle  Peter,  "  being 
by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  re- 
ceived of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
(i.  e.  the  promised  Holy  Ghost),  he  hath  shed  forth 
this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  All  the  gifts  of 
God  through  Christ  to  men,  all  the  graces  which 
chai'acterize  believers,  —  knowledge,  strength,  holiness, 
faith,  hope,  love,  —  with  all  their  attendant  train  of 
blessed  dispositions,  are  the  effects  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelling  and  working  in  them.  To  obtain  this 
spirit  in  his  various  energies  is  the  object  of  Christ's 
priestly  intercessions.  Whatever  we  need  for  our 
Christian  comfort,  guidance,  and  courage,  can  come 
to  us  only  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  as  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  consecrate  and  sustain  the  humanity  of  Christ 
himself,  came  from  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  by 
the  Father  upon   him.     The  Spirit  was  the  holy  oil 


Lect.  XXII.]  AS   RULER  AND  JUDGE.  483 

of  his  unction  when  he  was  crowned  as  the  royal  high 
priest  and  prophet  of  the  church,  and  its  precious  per- 
fumes flow  down  to  the  humblest  member  of  his  mys- 
tical body.  Christ,  therefore,  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father  on  his  throne,  that  as  he  administers  all 
providence  for  the  external  benefit  of  his  church,  he 
may  also  send  each  member  of  it  all  grace  for  the 
internal  Christian  life  ;  or,  as  the  51st  Question  and 
Answer  has  it,  the  profit  which  this  glory  of  Christ, 
our  head,  is  unto  us,  may  be  stated  in  two  parts. 
"  First :  That  by  his  Holy  Spirit  he  poureth  out  heav- 
enly graces  upon  us  his  members  ;  and  then  that  by 
his  power  he  defends  and  preserves  us  against  all 
enemies." 

4.  There  is  yet  another  form  of  Christ's  glory  con- 
nected with  his  elevation  as  Lord  of  all,  which,  though 
stated  in  a  separate  article  of  the  creed,  the  Catechism 
most  properly  unites  with  the  consideration  of  his  sit- 
ting at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father :  his  coming  "  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead." 

Throughout  the  Scriptures,  the  final  and  geneml 
judgment  of  the  world  is  ascribed  to  Christ,  "  be- 
cause," says  the  apostle  on  the  Areopagus,  God  "  hath 
appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained, 
whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men  in  that 
he  raised  him  from  the  dead."  Here  not  only  is  the 
judge  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  incarnate,  by  the 
emphatic  term  man,  but  his  judgeship  is  intimately 
connected  with  his  office  as  mediator  by  the  assurance 
of  his  appointment  being  given  in  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead.  We  see,  also,  according  to  the  creed,  that 
he  proceeds  fi.'om   his   throne  to  execute   the  office : 


484  CHRIST   ON   THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXII. 

"  From  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead  ; "  not  that  he  leaves  his  sovereign  au- 
thority behind  him,  hut  that  he  derives  his  authority 
to  judge  from  his  royal  dignity.  In  a  word,  it  is  a 
prerogative  of  his  mediatorial  headship  over  all.  The 
reason  of  this  is  twofold  :  first,  from  the  relation  of 
the  mediator  to  God  ;  secondly,  from  his  relation  to 
the   church. 

a.  In  committing  to  Jesus  Chx'ist  the  administration 
of  mercy,  the  Father  necessarily  committed  to  him  the 
administration  of  justice.  It  became  him  to  reconcile 
mercy  to  the  believer  with  justice  to  the  impenitent ; 
and,  while  he  effected  through  his  righteousness  the 
redemption  of  his  people,  though  sinners,  to  carry 
out  the  condemnation  of  all  who  rejected  his  surety- 
ship. He  could  not,  therefore,  fulfil  the  trust  of 
all  authority  from  the  Father  until  he  had  not  only 
opened  heaven  for  the  penitent,  but  also  sent  away 
the  obstinately  impenitent  to  their  merited  doom.  The 
gospel  did  not  annul  the  law,  but  placed  the  law  with 
the  gospel  in  the  hands  of  the  mediator.  Hence,  as  the 
final  judgment  is  intended  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
divine  holiness  in  the  consummation  of  the  present  sys- 
tem, so  it  should  be  presided  over  by  the  mediatorial 
Lord. 

It  is  also  for  the  benefit  of  the  church,  that  its  me- 
diatorial head  should  be  the  judge  to  dissipate  their 
fear,  fulfil  his  gracious  promises  to  them,  and  forever 
deliver  them  from  all  danger  and  dread  of  their  ene- 
mies, by  a  complete  and  everlasting  overthrow  of  all 
wickedness. 

Thus  the  disciple,  in  the  answer  to  the  52d  Question, 
declares  his  unspeakable  comfort  from  the  judgeship  of 


Lect.  XXII.]  AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE.  485 

Christ :  "  That  in  all  my  sorrows  and  persecutions, 
with  uplifted  head,  I  look  for  the  very  same  person,  who 
before  offered  himself  for  my  sake  to  the  tribunal  of 
God,  and  hath  removed  all  curse  from  me  to  come  as 
judge  from  heaven ;  who  shall  cast  all  his  and  my  ene- 
mies into  everlasting  condemnation,  but  shall  translate 
me  Avith  all  his  chosen  ones  to  himself  into  heavenly 
joys  and  glory."  Even  in  this  majestic  splendor  of 
the  mediator,  the  believer  is  associated  with  the  glory 
of  his  elder  brother.  It  is  in  his  kindred  flesh  that  the 
Son  of  God  shall  sit  on  the  judgment-seat ;  it  is  his 
head  that  shall  display  consummate  power  over  the 
destinies  of  all  men. 

There  are  many  very  interesting  questions  and  edify- 
ing truths  beyond  what  we  have  touched  npon  con- 
nected with  this  subject ;  but  as  the  Catechism  does 
not  bring  them  under  the  present  lesson,  and  much 
larger  space  were  necessary  for  their  discussion  than 
we  have  now  at  our  disposal,  we  must  leave  them  for 
other  occasions,  and  proceed  to  consider 

Thirdly  :  The  comfort  tvhich  the  believer  derives 
from  this  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  exaltation. 

This  has  been  made  to  appear  as  we  went  through 
the  previous  discussion,  but  the  several  points  may  be 
profitably  recapitulated. 

1.   Our  right  through  grace  to  heaven  is  secured. 

"  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,"  said  Peter  on 
the  mount  of  transfiguration,  when  he  beheld  the  glory 
of  Jesus,  and  in  his  bewildered  ignorance  he  would 
have  continued  on  the  top  of  Tabor ;  but  just  before 
his  passion,  when  the  master  had  gathered  the  twelve 
around  him  for  the  last  time,  he  declared,  "  It  is  expe- 
dient for  you  that  I  go  away."     From  the  scene  of  his 


486  CHRIST   ON   THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXIL 

transfiguration  he  descended  to  pass  through  sorrow, 
shame,  and  death  to  his  Father's  presence ;  and  after 
he  had  ascended  out  of  sight  of  his  exulting  disciples 
at  Bethany,  they  had  to  pass  through  trials  like  his  to 
reach  their  crown.  But  it  was  "  the  joy  set  before 
him,"  which  animated  him  to  "  endure  the  cross,  de- 
spising the  shame  ; "  it  was  the  reward  he  had  promised 
them  which  nerved  their  sjjirits  to  be  faithful  until 
death.  He  was  no  longer  with  them  on  earth  ;  but 
they  knew  that  he  was  in  glory  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father.  Tliey  no  longer  heard  his  gentle  voice  or 
saw  his  affectionate  smile,  but  they  knew  that  he  had 
not  forgotten  them,  for  he  had  carried  up  with  him  his 
human  body,  and  was  still  their  elder  brother  and 
high  priest,  who  could  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
their  infirmities,  having  been  tempted  like  as  they  were, 
though  without  sin  ;  they  had  seen  him  condemned, 
crucified,  dead,  and  buried  ;  and  now  they  were  ex- 
posed, a  scattered  feeble  flock,  to  the  malice  of  the 
same  enemies  and  a  cruel  death ;  but  they  knew  that  he 
whom  they  trusted  was  Lord  of  heaven,  triumphant 
over  all,  and  had  taken  his  royal  seat  as  their  forerun- 
ner. There  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  body  and  soul,  was 
in  glory,  —  a  glory  of  which  he  had  promised  them  that 
they  should  be  partakers.  Therefore,  sinners  though 
they  were,  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  unworthy  in 
themselves,  and  weak  as  they  were  unwortliy,  they 
knew  that  heaven  was  theirs ;  that  they  should  enter 
heaven  body  and  soul  ;  that  none  could  debar  them 
entrance,  because  he,  who  had  washed  them  from  their 
sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  imputed  to  them  his  right 
eousness,  and  acknowledged  them  as  members  of  his 
body,  was  now  the  king  who  had  control  over  all  the 


Lect.  XXII.]  AS   RULER  AND  JUDGE.  487 

mansions  of  lils  Father's  house,  and  had  promised  to 
come  again  and  receive  them  unto  himself,  that  where 
he  is  they  should  be  also.  They  could  have  no  doubt 
of  his  faithfulness,  they  could  have  no  doubt  of  his 
power  ;  for  lie  had  been  faithful  unto  death,  and  was 
now  head  over  all  things  to  his  church.  Thus  we  find 
that  an  assured  hope  of  heaven  was  the  great  stay  and 
comfort  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  primitive  Christians. 
They  set  their  hearts  on  heaven,  and  nothing  short  of 
heaven  could  at  all  satisfy  their  longing  expectations. 
Doubt  of  their  ultimate  blessedness  there,  the  possibility 
of  their  being  disappointed,  would  have  been  to  them 
the  power  of  keenest  torture  :  "  If  for  this  life  only  we 
have  hope  in  Christ,"  said  the  apostle  Paul,  "  we  are 
of  all  men  most  miserable."  Their  hope  was  in  Christ 
for  the  life  to  come.  The  same  comfort  is  ours,  beloved 
brethren.  Our  Saviour  is  in  heaven  ;  he  is  Lord  of 
heaven  —  Lord  of  heaven  in  our  nature  ;  and  in  receiv- 
ing him  and  crowning  him,  the  Father  has  given  an 
earnest  of  receiving  us  and  crowning  us,  if  we  be  in- 
deed Christians.  It  was  to  gain  heaven  for  us  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  suffered  and  endured  ;  to  reach  heaven  and 
be  w^ith  him  there,  should  be,  as  it  is,  the  great  aim  of 
all  his  true  followers,  and  our  only  comfort ;  but  our 
unspeakable  comfort  is,  that,  whatever  meets  us  here, 
lieaven  will  be  ours  at  last,  because  Christ  has  made  it 
ours  now.  Let,  then,  our  conversation  be  in  heaven, 
our  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  his  Son  Jesus* 
Christ,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and 
the  holy  angels.  We  are  pilgrims  now,  but  we  are 
going  home,  and  that  home  is  heaven. 

2.  Our  strength  for  the  Christian  life  is  secured. 

Though  the   end   of  his  pilgrimage   be  secured  in 


488  CHRIST   ON  THE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXII. 

heaven,  the  Christian  knows  that  great  trials  may,  if 
his  time  on  earth  be  prolonged,  lie  between  his  present 
state  and  heaven  ;  nor  can  he  help  but  fear,  lest  a 
promise  being  left  him  of  entering  into  rest,  he  might 
seem  to  come  short  of  it.  He  would  not  deliberately 
Avander  from  his  master's  footsteps,  nor  yield  to  temp- 
tation ;  but  he  is  feeble,  his  heart  most  wicked  and 
deceitful,  his  knowledge  little,  and  his  judgment  weak. 
How  shall  he  restrain  that  wicked  heart  of  his  ?  How 
undeceive  himself  from  its  sophisms  ?  How  resist  its 
long-indulged  tendencies  to  draw  back  from  the  livino; 
God  ?  Were  he  left  to  himself  he  would  despair ; 
but  he  is  not.  His  master  is  not  beyond  his  reach  ; 
there  is  a  door  open  by  which  his  faith  can  reach  him 
still  ;  and  in  faith  he  goes  through  the  rent  vail  even  to 
the  throne  of  grace,  and  on  that  throne  he  sees  Jesus, 
his  intercessor,  beside  God  the  Father  almighty,  having 
received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  all  the  members 
of  his  blessed  body.  As  the  Father  honors  the  Son 
by  receiving  him  as  head  of  the  church,  so  the  Holy 
Ghost  honors  him  by  putting  all  his  energies  at  his  dis- 
posal for  the  church.  The  Holy  Ghost  enters  the  soul 
of  each  believer  as  the  earnest  of  eternal  life,  shedding 
the  light  of  truth  through  his  understandino;,  the  love 
of  God  through  his  heart,  power  from  on  high  through 
his  will.  In  a  word,  all  that  the  believer  needs  within 
for  his  Christian  life  is  assured  to  him,  because  he 
'knows  that  Christ  sits  on  his  throne  to  "  pour  out  by 
his  Holy  Spirit  heavenly  graces  upon  us  his  members." 
We  may  not,  therefore,  whatever  be  our  conviction 
of  our  own  sin  and  insufficiency,  doubt  of  strength 
from  Christ,  so  long  as  we  have  continual  access  to 
the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.     We  have  but  to 


Lect.  XXIL]  as  EULER   AND  JUDGE.  489 

ask,  and  we  receive,  and  receive  in  no  small  measure, 
grace  to  help  in  time  of  need,  grace  to  cover  all  our 
infirmities,  to  supply  all  our  wants,  to  transform  us 
from  all  that  we  are  by  nature  to  the  likeness  of  the 
second  Adam,  the  perfection  of  humanity  and  the 
heavenly  type  of  his  ransomed  seed. 

3.  As  our  strength  within  is  secured,  so  is  our  de- 
fence from  without. 

Our  Head,  by  his  victory  over  death  and  him  that 
had  power  of  death,  triumphed   over  all  his  and  our 
enemies  ;   nay,  by  right  of  the  covenant,  has   power 
over  all  created  instrumentalities  as  head  of  the  church 
for  the  church.     It  is,  therefore,  no  more  a  question 
Avhether  or  not  we  are  able  individually,  or  as  a  church, 
to  contend  against  the  forces  adverse  to  our  cause,  or 
to  advance  towards  an  ultimate   success  the  kingdom 
of  which  we  have  been  made  partakers ;  that  has  long 
since  been  settled.     We  are  nothing,  the  whole  church 
apart  from  its  head  is  nothing,  in  comparison  with  the 
world  and  the  devil.     Now  we  ask  with  uplifted  heads, 
is  not  Christ  able  ?     Has  he  not,  whose  is  all  power 
in  heaven  and  in  earth,  who  sitteth  at  the  right  hand 
of  God  the  Father  almighty,  the  force  as  he  has  the 
prerogative  to  overcome  for  us,  and  by  us,  that  we  may 
overcome  with  him  ?     O  believer,  when  by  reason  of 
difficulties   around  you   and   threatenings    before   you, 
your  heart  fails,  look  up  !     Look  up  to  Jesus,  wher 
he  sitteth  at   the  riglit  hand  of  God,  whither  all  the 
articles  of  your  faith  lead  you.     Only  set  your  affec- 
tions  on  him  ;    only  cast  your  care   on  his  almighty 
arm,  and  you   shall  be  certain  of  deliverance  and  of 
success. 


490  CHRIST   ON   TEiE  THRONE  [Lect.  XXII. 

4.   Our  vindication  is  secure. 

Our  Lord  left  liis  disciples  on  earth  to  take  liis  seat 
on  liis  throne.  Personally  absent  he  is  now,  though 
present  by  his  Spirit.  But  the  separation  will  not  be 
perpetual.  We  show  forth  in  the  holy  sacrament  of 
the  supper  his  death  ;  but  we  show  it  till  he  come. 
When  the  disciples  stood  gazing  up  at  the  heavens 
through  which  their  Lord  disappeared  in  glory,  angels 
were  sent  to  stand  by  them,  and  say,  "  This  same 
Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall 
so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into 
heaven ; "  and  he  himself  had  said  before,  "  If  I  go 
away,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself, 
that  where  I  am  ye  may  be  also."  So  says  the  article 
of  our  creed  :  "  From  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  quick  and  the  dead."  For  wise  reasons  he  will 
permit  his  church  to  be  tried,  assisting  them  by  his 
Spirit  and  his  "power,  but  withholding  from  them  a  full 
success.  They  will  be  accused,  mocked,  baffled,  and 
persecuted.  Yet  only  for  a  time.  He  sits  on  his 
throne  expecting  till  his  "  enemies  be  made  his  foot- 
stool ; "  and  we,  though  on  earth,  have  a  gracious 
privilege  of  sharing  in  the  expectation  ;  for  when 
he  comes  again,  it  shall  be  to  judge  the  quick  and 
the  dead.  The  Lamb  that  was  slain  shall  sit  on  the 
judgment-seat,  to  justify  the  believer  from  the  curse 
by  his  own  righteousness  ;  to  condemn  the  unbe- 
liever because  his  mercy  has  been  rejected  ;  to  open 
with  his  nail-pierced  hands  the  kingdom  of  glory  for 
his  friends  ;  to  banish,  by  the  fierceness  of  his  own 
wrath,  his  enemies  to  an  everlasting  doom.  Before 
assembled  angels  and    an  observant    universe  will  he 


Lkct.  XXII.]  AS  RULER  AND  JUDGE.  491 

acknowledge  and  glorify  the  most  despised  of  his  little 
ones,  while  he  pours  eternal  contempt  upon  the  proud 
who  resisted  his  love. 

O  Christian,  O  unbeliever,  consider  who  can  stand 
before  him  in  the  judgment  !  If  we  trust  in  our- 
selves, our  condemnation  is  sure ;  if  we  trust  in  him, 
our  vindication  shall  be  complete. 


END    OF    VOL.   I. 


Date  Due 

h  19  '3. 

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